Occupied Tsikhvali signs Cooperation Deal with Syria
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, July 25
Anatoly Bibilov, de-facto president of Georgia’s occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region met with the president of Syria Bashar Assad in Damascus on Tuesday.
Bibilov and Assad signed friendship and cooperation agreement.
“The document envisages cooperation in foreign policy and economy. Anatoly Bibilov awarded Bashar Assad with a special order for recognition of the independence of South Ossetia,” Tskhinvali de facto leadership reports.
Syria recognized Georgian regions as independent states at the end of May.
Georgia has already cut diplomatic ties with Syria.
Official statement of Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reads: "as a result of the manipulation from the Russian Federation, the Syrian regime made yet another illegal decision and in violation of the fundamental norms and principles of international law recognized the so-called independence of the indivisible regions of Georgia – Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia.”
"With this act the Assad regime declared its support for Russia’s military aggression against Georgia, the illegal occupation of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions and the ethnic cleansing that has been taking place for years,” Tbilisi stated.
Since the Russia-Georgia 2008 war, only Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Syria recognized Georgian occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali as independent republics.
The rest of the international community says the regions are integral parts of Georgia and major part calls on Russia to withdraw its forces from the Georgian territory.
