Russia says unaware of plans for S.Ossetia-Georgia border fence

MOSCOW. February 12. KAZINFORM Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it had no information on the construction of a fence along South Ossetia's border with Georgia.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry expressed concerns on Monday over what it said were plans, also reported in some media, on the part of South Ossetia to build a fence along its border with Georgia with Russia's assistance. "The Russian Foreign Ministry does not have information on the construction of a special fence along South Ossetia's border with Georgia. At the same time, the authorities of the sovereign state of South Ossetia have the right to erect infrastructure on its border with adjacent states for national security reasons," the ministry said on its website. The ministry also said Russia was planning to sign an agreement on border control with South Ossetia soon; Kazinform cites Ria Novosti. Russia recognized South Ossetia and another Georgian rebel republic, Abkhazia, as independent on August 26, two weeks after the end of the Russian conflict with Georgia sparked by Tbilisi's attack on the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali.