Int'l Community Condemns Russian Borderization of Georgia

The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) revealed that on April 17, Russian occupying powers resumed “illegal borderization” near the village of Takhtisdziri of Kareli Municipality alongside the separating ABL between Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia and Georgia. As stated by the SSSG, the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) has been timely informed and the EUMM-managed hotline has also been triggered.

The Co-chairs of the Geneva Discussions format has also made a statement about newly resumed illegal borderization: “in the face of the current global challenge of COVID-19, requiring joint approaches and co-operation amongst all, we hereby repeat our call on all participants to avoid provocative measures and focus on improving the situation of the conflict-affected population,” the GID co-chairs declared.

The Estonian Foreign Ministry also commented on the situation via twitter: “Estonia urges the de facto authorities in Tskhinvali to put an end to these actions which clearly violate international law, and to stop aggravating the situation,” reads the statement from the Estonian Foreign Ministry.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius also reasserted Lithuania’s backing of Georgia’s ‘sovereignty and territorial integrity’. “For Russia coronavirus is serving as a smokescreen for further ‘borderization’. We strongly condemn militarization along the occupation line of Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia,” Minister Linkevičius stated.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also remarked on the illegal borderization, their statement reading: "Restrictions on free movement, provision of proper medical care, access to agricultural land and water resources are unconditional violations of international law and pose an additional threat amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the world. We are concerned about the actions of the Russian Federation, which involves the continuation of militarization processes in the temporarily occupied territories of Georgia and Ukraine. An example of this is the transfer of nuclear, biological and chemical units of the Russian Armed Forces from occupied Crimea to the occupied territories of Abkhazia under the pretext of fighting the pandemic.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reaffirms its support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. We also ask the Russian Federation to immediately stop erection of artificial barriers in the occupied region in order to ensure full access of international monitoring and human rights organizations to the occupied territories, and finally, to fulfill its obligations under the agreement of August 12, 2008,”.