De Facto S. Ossetia Tightens So Called Border Crossing Procedures

De facto leadership of Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia has announced that they are tightening so-called border crossing procedures with Georgia.

The Tskhinvali puppet regime released information about “border crossing rules,” which reads that the “citizens of South Ossetia," who required passports to cross the “border with Georgia”, will from now need special passes issued by the “security committee of the border service of the republic.”

The statement reads that the new rule will enable competent “state structures” to be informed about all the citizens who cross the “Georgian border.”

State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality of Georgia, Ketevan Tsikhelashvili said that the puppet regime works against everyone – Georgians and Ossetians.

"Sadly, this is not a novelty, there is always an attempt from them to make the movement of people more difficult," she said.

The State Minister says this restriction creates additional problems for the population in the Tskhinvali region, for which free movement is vital.

Tsikhelashvili says the restrictions were deliberately imposed before the New Year.

"This particular restriction concerns the people, especially ethnic Ossetians who are not directly living near the occupation line, but in the depths of breakaway Tskhinvali region and who want to visit the rest of Georgia,” she explained.

By Thea Morrison