"Georgian Drone Development Endangers the National Security of Breakaway Abkhazia"

The de facto Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia voiced grave worry over the ongoing process of upgrading Georgia's military-industrial complex and enhancing the country's military capacity.

The Abkhazian Ministry of Foreign Affairs replied to the Georgian Minister of Defense's statements about the development of surveillance and strike unmanned aerial vehicles by stating that it poses substantial threats to Abkhazia's national security. In this situation, a joint venture between Georgia and Poland has been set up so that unmanned aerial vehicles can be made in Georgia by the end of the year.

"In the absence of a peace treaty between our countries, the strengthening and expansion of Georgia's military capabilities is viewed as an existential danger by the Republic of Abkhazia and may lead to a further escalation of conflict in our area," the statement added. As a reaction, Abkhazia will continue to develop military-technical cooperation with the Russian Federation in accordance with negotiated bilateral agreements. Sokhumi urged the co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions and other international mediators to pay close attention to Georgia's activities that weaken the South Caucasus' security foundations and create new impediments to the region's peaceful development.

The New de Facto Prime Minister in the Tskhinvali Region

The legislature of the occupied Tskhinvali Region (South Ossetia) endorsed Alan Gagloev's nomination of Konstantin Dzhussoev as the region's new "Prime Minister" on June 17. All 33 deputies voted for Dzhussoev’s candidacy in a secret ballot. 

The 55-year-old Dzhussoev is a native of the region. Formerly the general director of the construction company "Megapolis," he was allegedly in charge of residential, commercial, and social facility development, as well as projects under the Russian investment programme for the occupied zone. 

Dzhussoev addressed MPs on agriculture and food security, the need to attract investors, the reduction of administrative and tax burdens on enterprises, and the need to re-establish confidence between businesses and the government. In addition, Dzhussoev addressed the demographic situation, the development of the family institution, the promotion of the Ossetian language, and the continuation of pharmaceutical distribution to beneficiaries.

Gagloev Appointed the Heads of the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Justice

Alan Gagloev, who came into office on May 25 as the President of de facto South Ossetia, named the ministers of Internal Affairs and Justice. Merab Pukhaev was replaced by Valery Gazzaev at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, while Zalina Lalieva was replaced by Oleg Gagloev in the Ministry of Justice. 

Both former ministers are notorious for outrageous conduct, when the Minister of Justice, Lalieva, was previously disgraced for permitting the use of force on detainees at the Tskhinvali penal colony. The employees of the division of the Ministry of the Interior beat the hunger-striking detainees. The actions of the ex-head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Pukhaev, also caused outrage among the inhabitants of the South Osseita in 2020, when the family of Inal Dzhabiev, who died after beatings within the walls of law enforcement agencies, demanded a fair investigation of the case at an open-ended rally in the centre of Tskhinvali.

The new heads of the de facto ministries were among the first to be appointed. The population approves of Gagloev’s personnel choices, although the new appointees are not from the circle of people who were in leadership under Anatoly Bibilov, who lost the presidential election. 

Colonel Valery Gazzaev is 51 years old and was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs. He has an advanced law degree. Since 1997, he has been employed by the Department of Internal Affairs. Over the course of his career, he has held the following positions: Senior Investigator of the Group for the Investigation of Economic Crimes; Head of the Department for Investigating the Most Complex Criminal Cases; Head of the Criminal Police of the Police Department; Deputy Head of the Central Secretariat Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; and, as of 2015, Head of the Central Secretariat Service. 

Oleg Gagloev, the next Minister of Justice, was born in Tskhinvali in 1986. Currently, he is a candidate for the International Law and European Law degrees at the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law of the Russian Federation. He worked in numerous law firms before joining the de facto South Ossetia government's legal department. In 2011–2013, he served as Assistant to the President for Legal Affairs. Subsequently, he was a member of the South Ossetian part of the Intergovernmental Commission on Social and Economic Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Ossetia and a member of the South Ossetian National Banking Council. Until December 2020, he oversaw the government apparatus of the Republic of South Ossetia.