Embassy of Iran in Georgia Accuses Breakaway Tskhinvali in Spreading False Information

The Embassy of Iran in Georgia says the breakaway region of South Ossetia (Tskhinvali) has released false information about Iran’s ambassador to Russia, when claiming he expressed an interest of cooperation with the occupied region in the field of education and science.

“The embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran underscores support to Georgia's territorial integrity, and denounces the released information, which is false and unfounded,” the statement of the embassy reads.

“Furthermore, connecting Iran’s Ambassador to Russia to this false information represents a clear breach of professional ethics of journalism,” the embassy added.

Breakaway South Ossetian ‘state-led’ news agency PEC reports that Iran's Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanai said his country is interested in establishing cooperation in the field of education and science with South Ossetia.

The agency added the Iranian diplomat made the statement during the International Theoretical and Practical Conference - Iran and the North Caucasus: History and Prospects for Cooperation, held in North Ossetia, which represents a federal subject of Russia.

The article claims that the Iranian ambassador also made some comments about Georgia’s aspirations towards joining NATO.

"Of course, all countries are independent, and they act within their national interests, but we as a major regional power are interested in ensuring that not every country from our region joins NATO. And if we look around ourselves, in the Middle East, NATO's presence did not bring any benefits,” PEC quoted Sanai.

The news agency added that with the purpose of more effective preparation of students of this faculty in the framework of cooperation with the St. Petersburg State University, specialists of the Department of Iranian Philology of St. Petersburg State University came to South Ossetia to read the course of lectures.

“At an embassy level, the issue of sending students of the Ossetian-Persian faculty for training in Iran was trying to be ironed out,” PEC reports.

Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia and another occupied region of Abkhazia are recognized as independent states only by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Nauru. All the other countries agree that these two regions are integral parts of Georgia, within its internationally recognized borders. 

By Thea Morrison

Photo: Iran's Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanai

Source: alania.gov.ru