US Ambassador: Russia Should Fulfill Ceasefire Obligations under the 2008 Agreement

"We need to be able to get Russia to fulfill its ceasefire obligations under the 2008 agreement," the US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan told reporters after the meeting with the Public Defender while talking about the abduction of Georgian citizens and creeping occupation.

The diplomat noted that the US supports the continuation of the Geneva format in order to resolve human rights issues through direct meetings and discussions.

“Probably one of the most fundamental issues here is to restore Georgia’s integrity, sovereignty and territorial independence, something that the United States strongly supports. We encourage the Geneva international discussions to continue. I know there’s an effort to have face to face discussions later this fall.

"I think the effort to revitalize, reactivate the IPRM is also an important step so that these detentions that have been happening can be resolved quickly on the ground, without subjecting Georgian citizens to the kind of detention and harassment that they’ve been receiving. So again, this is very important. I think there are mechanisms in place to address these issues.

"We just need to be able to get Russia to fulfill its ceasefire obligations under the 2008 agreement. Everything exists to resolve this, it is simply a matter of Russia complying with its obligations”, said the Ambassador.

By Ana Dumbadze