According to the document, Russian legislators are deeply concerned with reports that the Georgian authorities are continuing their "illegal and prevocational activity in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict area."
The deputies recalled that Ossetia as a unified subject had joined Russia in 1774 on its own accord. At that point Ossetia was not separated into the northern and southern parts (South Ossetia is a former Georgian province, now a self-proclaimed independent republic, while North Ossetia is a constituent republic in the Russian Federation). The document reads that Ossetians are one nation.
"Using such methods, the Georgian authorities roundly violate the Agreement on the principles of settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, signed in 1992 by Russian and Georgian leaders," the Russian statement reads.
Russian legislators emphasize that violation of this document can let the conflict take a violent turn.
The Russians also said that they could not understand why some top Georgian officials endorsed provocations of Georgian troops against Russian peacekeepers deployed in the area.
According to Russian deputies, those who back these dangerous activities have to be aware of the responsibility they are assuming for aggravating tension in the region. They recalled that tension in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict area endangered South Ossetians most of whom are Russian citizens.
"[Russian] deputies do not understand why members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly have actually endorsed the Georgian delegation's assessment of the situation in South Ossetia," the statement reads.
"A resolution of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly not mentioning the Mixed Monitoring Commission mandate that, as the parties to the conflict agreed in 1992, has been the only legal basis of conflict settlement in the area will hardly help settle the conflict," the Russian deputies wrote in the statement.
The legislators believe that the first thing to do is to resume the work of the Mixed Monitoring Commission as soon as possible, including its extraordinary field operations.
They wrote the Russian parliament intended to prevent use of military force in Transcaucasia, to provide security, and to protect rights and lawful interests of Russian citizens and compatriots living in South Ossetia.
Meanwhile, chairman of the information and press committee of South Ossetia Irina Gagloyeva told RIA Novosti on Saturday in South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali that Georgian units may have been reinforced by insurgent formations based in Pankisi Gorge (the Chechnya section of the Russian-Georgian border).
"According to South Ossetian military observations, some of their adversaries pray several times a day like Moslems do. We believe that these are insurgents based in Pankisi Gorge," she said.
She emphasized that Georgia also engaged irregular armed formations based in Western Georgia, so-called 'Forest Brothers,' to join an aggression against South Ossetia.
According to Gagloyeva, Saturday morning saw about 90-min mortar fire near Priss Hills, without casualties on the South Ossetian side.
She added that volunteers from all over North Caucasus were arriving in South Ossetia. "I do not agree to call these people mercenaries. They are volunteers. It's the other side that hires mercenaries," she said.
