Zaza Driaev
 |
Zaza Nodarovich Driaev | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Parliament of South Ossetia | |
| Assumed office 2019 | |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Political independent |
Zaza Nodarovich Driaev is an Ossetian politician from the partially recognized Caucasian Republic of South Ossetia, which most of the UN recognizes as part of Georgia, occupied by Russia. Driaev is the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Ties, and as such, determines much of the foreign policy of the Republic.
Biography
[edit]Diraev was elected to the South Ossetian parliament in the 2019 election as a political independent, however, joined the governmental support of Anatoly Bibilov, despite refusing to join his United Ossetia party.[1]
In 2019 Driaev was among the South Ossetian politicians who called on Georgian officials to take down a police post close to the de facto South Ossetian border, namely near the Ossetian controlled village of Tsnelisi, suggesting the South Ossetian KGB dismantle the post by force. However, despite South Ossetian protests over the police post supposedly being in South Ossetian territory, the post was well outside the administrative boundary of the former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast, the territory the South Ossetians claimed. At the core of the dispute were differing interpretations between the Georgian and South Ossetians sides about the course of the boundary in this particular area. After an investigation by the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia the post was not removed, but the dispute itself remained unresolved.[2][3] In 2020 Driaev caved to protesters in Tskhinvali that called for the resignation of the government of Gennady Bekoyev. Driaev announced that he was going to open a parliamentary investigation towards possible censure of the South Ossetian general prosecutor, the cause for the public's dissatisfaction with the government.[4]
Driaev is the co-chairman of the Commission for Cooperation between the Federation Council and the Parliament of the Republic of South Ossetia, as well as the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Ties. In these capacities he met with a delegation of Russian politicians, led by Grigory Karasin, that visited South Ossetia in 2023 to mark the 15th anniversary of Russia's recognition of South Ossetia's independence.[5][6]
As Foreign policy chairman, Driaev was tasked with establishing a committee to explore possible Belarusian recognition of South Ossetian independence, after the issue was introduced by Alan Tekhov and approved by Alan Alborov.[7] Additionally, he urged the rest of parliament to follow a Russian Duma decree that the United States must end its embargo on Cuba, as well as denounce the death of civilians in the Israel–Hamas war.[8]
In November 2023, Driaev, alongside Sarmat Ikoev, went on a state visit to North Ossetia to meet with their parliament over implementing matching laws on "Physical Culture and Sports" in both North and South Ossetia.[9][10]
References
[edit]- ^ "'United Ossetia' Loses Seats, Keeps Tskhinvali Legislature Majority". Civil Georgia. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ Groeneveld, Jelger (25 August 2019). "Territorial dispute Chorchana-Tsnelisi over old and "fake" maps". occupied.eastwatch.eu. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ "South Ossetia opposes construction of Georgian border checkpoint". Caucasian Knot. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ "Tskhinvali protesters go home". Caucasian Knot. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ "Grigory Karasin: Russian and South Ossetian MPs will continue making an important contribution to stronger allied relations between our countries". Federation Council. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ "A meeting of the Commission on Cooperation between the Russian Federation Council and the Parliament of South Ossetia will be held in Tskhinval". State Information Agency. 11 October 2023. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ "Tskhinvali MPs to Apply to Belarus for Recognition of "Republic"". sakartvelosambebi.ge. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ "Parliament of South Ossetia supported a number of important appeals of the Russian State Duma". State Information Agency. 5 December 2023. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ "Парламентарии из Южной Осетии принимают участие в парламентских слушаниях в Северной Осетии". parliamentrso.org. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ "Югоосетинские депутаты принимают участие в парламентских слушаниях в Северной Осетии". State Information Agency. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2024.