International community to react effectively to Russia’s occupant actions
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, July 6
Georgia’s Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned Russia’s occupant forces' actions on the territory of Georgia and the most recent incident on July 3, which saw about 10 hectares of Georgian land in the country’s center illegally taken by Russian and de facto Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) forces.
The occupants illegally placed a new so-called border sign in the village of Bershueti in the Gori municipality, as a result of which several local farmers’ agricultural lands have now partially fallen beyond the occupation line.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia has expresses its “deep concern” over the illegal installation of the border signs.
“This is a continuation of the illegal process of so-called borderization, which not only restricts the fundamental rights of local residents but considerably damages the security situation on the ground and obstructs Georgia’s efforts to achieve peaceful resolution of the conflict,” Georgia’s Foreign Ministry stated.
Despite the international community’s repeated calls, the Russian Federation continues to grossly violate the principles of international law and its commitments undertaken under the Ceasefire Agreement of 12 August 2008, the Ministry added.
The Ministry stressed that this fact and the general situation in Georgia’s occupied regions and adjacent territories once again pointed to the necessity of establishing international security arrangements and creating human rights monitoring mechanisms on the ground.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia called on the international community to “duly assess” the situation in Georgia’s occupied territory and take respective measures to stop Russia’s illegal actions.
The Ministry vowed they would use all levers at its disposal, including within the framework of the Geneva International Discussions and international organizations, not to allow Russia remain without due international assessment and reaction.
The President of Georgia also expressed his concern over the relocation of the occupation line.
"It is very important to us for any violation of Georgia's territorial integrity to be condemned. Georgia will use all the available diplomatic means to stop the creeping occupation. The President of Georgia stated that the information will be immediately delivered to our partners, international organizations and our allies, and any violation of Georgia's territorial integrity will not remain without response," Tengiz Pkhaladze, the President’s advisor, said.
