OREANDA-NEWS. August 16, 2010.   The last two years have proven that Russia’s decision to defend the peoples of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and recognise the two countries’ independence was the right one, and it has given these peoples the chance to develop without fear of genocide and extermination, Dmitry Medvedev said at talks with President of South Ossetia Eduard Kokoity.

The talks focused particularly on rebuilding infrastructure and housing destroyed during the Georgian attack on the republic in August 2008. Also discussed were bilateral cooperation mechanisms and ensuring peace and security in the Trans-Caucasus region.

The Russian delegation at the talks included Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Sergei Naryshkin, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, and Regional Development Minister Viktor Basargin. The South Ossetian delegation included Chief of the Presidential Administration Arsen Gagloyev, Deputy Prime Minister Domenty Kulumbegov, and South Ossetian Ambassador to Russia Dmitry Medoyev.