The Head of the House of Romanoff laments the events in South Ossetia

The Head of the House of Romanoff, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, expressed her profound anguish over the conflict in South Ossetia. She said, “For me, all Russians, Georgians, Ossetians, and Abkhazians are all equally dear to me, as if they were my own children.” Her Imperial Highness is troubled by the actions of political leaders, who are only fulfilling the will of foreign masters and, because of this, have turned the territory of their own country into a bombing range for foreign weapons, and who have sacrificed their own people for foreign interests.

The Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna is convinced that “the present conflict in South Ossetia has its origins abroad.” Her Imperial Highness calls for the immediate cessation of military actions and for a return to diplomacy within the framework of international treaties. The Head of the House of Romanoff continued: “In the twentieth century, there has already been enough blood spilt for us all to realize, at long last, that nothing good ever comes about from barbaric acts, from the murder of civilians, or from violence and falsehood.”