The Gakharia – For Georgia party demanded that the country's authorities bring the situation in South Ossetia up for discussion at the 67th round of the Geneva International Discussions, declaring a new stage in the region's rapprochement with Russia.
"Following the previous round of the Geneva Discussions, Russia has significantly intensified the process of de facto annexation of the occupied region and is seeking its final incorporation into its territory," the party said in a statement.
According to the opposition, this new stage began with the signing of an agreement on May 9 to deepen the alliance between South Ossetia and Russia. The party believes that subsequent personnel changes have only reinforced this trend.
The statement's authors draw particular attention to the appointment of a Russian official to a key position in Tskhinvali, calling this further evidence of Moscow's growing influence in the region.
Meanwhile, the ruling Georgian Dream party is accused of inaction. "The Georgian authorities remain completely silent regarding violations of the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty and even refuse to support the resolution condemning the annexation," the document notes.
According to the authors of the statement, this position advances the interests of the Russian side.
Gakharia – For Georgia recalls that the Geneva discussions remain the only international forum for discussing Georgian-Russian relations and the situation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. "That is why the Georgian authorities must urgently raise the issue of the current processes in the Tskhinvali region during the upcoming negotiations," the statement emphasizes.
On June 23, South Ossetian leader Alan Gagloev accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer to serve as his advisor. According to the republic's constitution, the acting leadership is assumed by Prime Minister Marat Kambolov.
Kambolov is a Russian citizen and held senior positions at the Kurchatov Institute National Research Center from 2014 to 2026. The center's president is Mikhail Kovalchuk. Mikhail and his brother, Yuri Kovalchuk, are members of Vladimir Putin's inner circle and are considered among the most influential figures in the Russian political elite.
On May 27, 2026, Kambolov was appointed Gagloev's advisor and given the authority to implement the agreement on deepening the allied cooperation between South Ossetia and Russia, signed in Moscow on May 9.
Some experts link the recent personnel changes in South Ossetia to a possible scenario of the republic's unification with North Ossetia and its subsequent incorporation into Russia. However, the Kremlin has repeatedly rejected such assumptions: presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow has no such plans.
