President of NATO Parliamentary Assembly talks about her visit to occupation line at PA session
By Inga Kakulia
Tuesday, October 15
Recently the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Madeleine Moon visited the occupation line in Khurvaleti, where she later made comments stating that the emotions she felt on the ground were so impressive that it would not just be left in the assembly documents. In the context of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Session, the media representatives reminded the Assembly President of her comments and asked if her speech would echo this message. Madeleine Moore replied, “When I said I will not forget, I will not forget.”
Truly the speech of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly President touched on many focal points regarding the occupation of Georgian territories by the Russian Federation.
“Almost five years ago, international security faced two challenges. The first one should come as no surprise to us. We saw the cyberattack against Estonia in 2007 and we saw the occupation of Georgian territory in 2008. However, we were still surprised in 2014 when Russia used force against its neighbor. Occupied the territory of Ukraine, Crimea. He then launched a campaign to stir up conflict in eastern Ukraine. Russia's blatant violation of international law and norms has been accompanied by efforts aimed at undermining Western democratic societies and institutions,” stated Moon.
Moore recalled meeting with Data Vanishvili, during his visit to Georgia on September 13 at the occupation line in Khurvaleti.
“I spoke to one of the residents who, along with his ailing wife, was framed behind the barbed wire and could not see family members or cultivate his own land on the other side of the barbed wire. It was emotional and I vowed to talk about it, not just about violations of international law, but about the people living there and the violations of their rights, "said Moon.
“This year I have been visiting both Tbilisi and Kyiv to show our support for their Euro-Atlantic aspirations, to see firsthand how Georgia and Ukraine cope with direct Russian aggression. Just two weeks ago, I visited the administrative dividing line erected around South Ossetia. I know many of you did the same thing during our session in 2017. So I'm sure you understand why I feel morally obliged to take this opportunity to talk about what I saw there and what I felt. Russia wants this dividing line to become an established border and is trying to divide Georgia illegally. Because of this, Russia periodically crosses the border, not paying attention to the population whose families and property are divided."
In her speech, Madeleine Moon noted that the organization "is proud of condemning illegal occupation" in respect of Georgia and Ukraine.
Assembly President also stated that NATO has a proud past of condemning the statements made about Georgia and Ukraine and the illegal occupation of their territories. Madeleine Moor continued to say that these were not just words, that NATO has unequivocally shown support and solidarity first by holding a spring session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Tbilisi in 2017, and by planning the next year’s session in Kyiv.
