Tbilisi Releases Statement on 10th Anniversary of Georgia-Russia War
Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has released a statement regarding the 10 year anniversary of the Georgia-Russia August war, which left 20% of Georgian territories occupied and turned thousands of Georgians into IDPs.
“With military aggression against the sovereign state and subsequent illegal steps, Russia grossly violated the fundamental norms of international law,” the statement reads, adding Russia's actions in 2008 were dictated to change the borders in Europe and with the ambition of undermining European security.
The Georgian MFA says that after 10 years, Russia continues its aggression against Georgia and conducts illegal drills on the territories of Georgia’s occupied regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
“It is an unprecedented attempt by the Russian side to demonstrate its own military power, which at the same time represents the use of force and threat against Georgia,” Tbilisi says.
The Ministry stresses that Russia has not yet fulfilled the obligations undertaken under the August 12, 2018 ceasefire agreement, which obliges Russia to withdraw its forces from the occupied territories.
“Moscow further enhances its illegal military presence on the ground and prevents the creation of international security mechanisms in Georgia's Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions,” the statement added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia expressed concern over the security situation in the occupied territories and the deterioration of the human rights situation there.
It also stated that strengthening the occupational line with barbed wire fences and other artificial barriers, and continuous abductions and illegal detentions by the representatives of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, destabilize the security environment on the ground.
The statement also mentioned Georgian citizens Davit Basharuli, Giga Otkhozoria and Archil Tatunashvili, who were killed by the occupation forces, saying Georgia has repeatedly proved unilateral fulfillment of the non-use of force, expecting similar steps from Russia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia said it greatly appreciates the international community's support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and the peaceful settlement of the conflict.
“Georgia once again calls on the Russian Federation to stop its illegal actions on the territory of Georgia and to fulfill its international obligations, in particular, to revoke the recognition of occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia as “independent states” and to fully implement the August 12 ceasefire agreement mediated by the EU,” the statement of Official Tbilisi reads.
By Thea Morrison
Photo source: BBC