Tbilisi Calls on Russia to Stop Illegal Actions Targeted against Georgia
By Tea Mariamidze
Thursday, November 8
Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) condemns the construction of artificial barriers along the occupation line near the village of Atotsi of Kareli municipality and calls on the Russian Federation to stop the illegal actions directed against Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Official Tbilisi once again urged Russia to fulfill the international obligations under the ceasefire agreement of 12 August 2008 and withdraw its military units from the territory of Georgia.
“The Russian Federation grossly violates the fundamental norms and principles of international law with similar steps and undermines the rules-based international system,” the statement of the MFA reads.
The ministry also says the illegal action of the Russian occupational regime aims to “further destabilize the situation in the region, limit free movement of conflict-affected population and their further isolation” from the rest of Georgia.
“Continuation of the illegal process will further aggravate the already difficult humanitarian situation of the local population,” Tbilisi said.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also addresses the international community to assess Russia's provocative actions and take effective steps in response to Russia's illegal occupation and factual annexation of Georgia's Tskhinvali regions and Abkhazia,” the statement reads.
Georgia’s State Security Service also commented on the fact, saying the hotline has been activated and the EU Monitoring Mission has been informed about the illegal actions.
“Illegal borderization is taking place in the vicinity of Atosi village of Kareli municipality. The above-mentioned damages the safety on the ground and significantly restricts the local population’s right to free movement,” the agency stressed.
Georgia’s State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, says that installation of barbed wires near the occupation line by the Tskhinvali and Russian occupation regimes is a pre-election provocation.
“There is the interest to creating more tensions in the pre-election period and to carry out yet another provocation in order to put more pressure on the Georgian population. Russia will fail to reach the desired result through such provocations. We gave a proper response to this specific fact and the efforts aim to stop the building of these ugly barbed wire fences and barricades and abolish all the barricades that separate the people and are erected in the middle of Georgia,” the minister stated.
The information about the fortification of occupation line near Kareli Municipality was released by the de facto Security Committee of the occupied region of South Ossetia.
