UN, International Community Condemn Russia’s Creeping Annexation
The United Nations (UN) Secretary General is concerned about the situation at the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) near the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia.
Today, the UN released a special statement on behalf of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon concerning recent developments around the demarcation line, which can “negatively impact” on the daily lives of the local population.
“The Secretary-General calls on all parties to refrain from any steps which could be considered as provocative for the sake of maintaining peace and stability in the region,” the statement said.
He also recommends that all sides to apply the Geneva international discussions and make use of Geneva International Discussions and the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) to defuse the current situation.
Already a number of countries have released official statements in addressing recent developments at the ABL in Georgia condemns what it describes as illegal activities on the territory of Georgia.
Latvia’s Foreign Ministry shared its concern about the shifting of demarcation signposts along the administrative boundary line of the breakaway region of South Ossetia on July 10, 2015, describing such actions as being “provocative, having a negative impact on the security situation in the region, and how they could potentially cause increases in distrust, making conflict resolution more difficult, thus reducing the ability of people living in the area to move freely,” the statement reads.
The Foreign Ministry considers that all sides should refrain from any provocative actions and calls upon Russia to fulfill its international obligations.
“Latvia supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally-recognised borders and considers that discussions must be continued in the Geneva format of negotiations to find a long-term solution to the conflict”, their Foreign Ministry stated.
Meanwhile, in support of Georgia’s territorial integrity, Lithuanians held a protest rally in front of the Russian Embassy in Lithuania, earlier today.
Lithuanians protested Russia’s creeping occupation of Georgian territories and the installation of signposts near the borderline of the breakaway region of South Ossetia on July 10.
The Head of first independent state of Lithuania Vytautas Landsbergis also took part in the protest rally in Lithuania today.
On July 10, Russian-backed forces illegally placed signposts marking the so-called border on the territory adjacent to the village of Tsitelubani, Gori municipality, and the village of Orchosani, occupied Akhalgori district, near Georgia’s main east-west highway. As a consequence of the illegal border installation, a segment of the British Petroleum (BP) - operated Baku-Supsa pipeline [near Orchosani] now falls within territory essentially under Russian control.
Alongside the official diplomatic efforts, Georgian societal groups actively protested against the illegal Russian actions. On July 14, Georgian media representatives held a protest rally “No to Occupation” in the village of Khurvaleti and participants took down the Russian signposts which claimed “Republic of South Ossetia.”
The Young Diplomat’s Club of Georgia and other youth organisations also organised protests against the “creeping occupation” of Russia. Young Georgians gathered with NATO and EU flags in Khurvaleti, near what is frequently described in the press as the occupational line.
A demonstration is expected to be held in front of the Georgian State Administration building in Tbilisi on July 18.
Tamar Svanidze