"Entire responsibility for further exacerbation of tensions will lie on Georgia," the South Osset parliament says in a statement, as Irina Gagloyeva, republican Press and Information Committee president, informed Novosti in a telephone interview.
Parliament was moved to make its statement by a conflict zone incident in the small hours yesterday. Georgia was transferring Interior forces to the vicinity of the villages Heiti and Tamarasheni, not far from Tskhinvali, South Osset capital. To distract public attention from troop deployment, Georgia widely disseminated allegations of South Osset soldiers closely approaching the village Eredvi.
The move aims to discredit peacekeepers in the conflict zone, and eventually demand them withdrawn. Such subterfuges by no means promote South Osset relations with Georgia normalised, stresses the statement.
Georgia pulled out its soldiers from the conflict zone, June 15, after prompt intervention of the joint peacekeeping command.
Georgia has suspended natural gas supplies to South Ossetia. The rebellious republic regards it as another stage of its economic blockade.
"The blockade is on. Arguments about debts follow one another though we always pay our debts," Ms. Gagloyeva said to Novosti.
Itera Georgia Co. suspended, this morning, natural gas supplies to the Tskhinvali Region (official Georgian name for South Ossetia), Novosti/Georgia news agency reports with reference to a company spokesman.
The Itera Georgia was supplying gas to the republic on a September 2003 contract with the latter's Yugosetgas Co. The contract binds the client to make payments the month following supplies. South Ossetia repeatedly violated the clause, and so is in debt to the supplier company for more than 121,000 lari, roughly US$60,000, said our informant.
As he pointed out, the corporate move has no bearing whatsoever on political developments in the area, and supplies will resume as soon as the arrears are paid.
South Ossetia can receive gas only via Georgia as there is no direct mainline to connect it to Russia, says the news agency.
