Military

South Ossetia Accuses OSCE Of Bias

PRAGUE, April 18, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Authorities in the Georgian separatist republic of South Ossetia today accused the Organization for Security of Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) of pro-Georgian bias.

In comments posted on the breakaway republic's official website, South Ossetia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alan Pliyev claimed that instead of helping settle the sovereignty dispute with Tbilisi, the OSCE mission to Georgia "is often making decisions that pave the way for provocative steps by Georgia."

In comments made to visiting officials from Russia's Foreign Ministry, South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity on April 17 likened the activity of the OSCE mission to "that of Georgia's secret services."

South Ossetia forcibly won de facto independence from Georgia in the early 1990s. It has enjoyed privileged ties with Russia ever since.

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org