"I think a 'big war' is out of question now. We have repeatedly stressed: a war, more so a big war, will be a tragedy for Georgians, Ossetians and the entire region", he said in the interview with the Moscow-based Izvestia newspaper.
Igor Ivanov admitted that the situation had obviously aggravated again "although in recent weeks great efforts have been made, by Moscow, for instance, to ease the tensions and put the situation within the framework of a political settlement".
"It is important now that all the sides fulfil the agreements reached at the sessions of the Mixed Monitoring Commission in Moscow and refrain from actions and declarations capable of aggravating the situation, complicated as it is", he stressed.
In his opinion, it is crucial for peacekeepers should be deployed in the area of armed clashes to prevent such incidents, for politicians not to exchange harsh statements but conduct a dialogue on specific questions.
The secretary of the Russian Security Council believes that the final settlement of the South Ossetian conflict depends, above all, on Tbilisi and Tskhinvali".
Moreover, Igor Ivanov noted that "Russia would provide the necessary assistance to achieve a political agreement". If the situation aggravates and large-scale clashes begin, Russia as any state in line with the United Nations Charter may deploy its forces into another sovereign state only on the basis of the corresponding mandate of the United Nations Security Council, he stressed. "No other actions of the kind may be taken unilaterally", said the secretary of the Russian Security Council.
Igor Ivanov added that Russia "had many political measures in store to prevent further escalation of tensions". "Certainly, we shall use our potential", he concluded.
