Georgian envoy: “New “border” signs aim to force us into demarcation talks”

Georgian Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze has said that the only aim of erecting new border signs along the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) with breakaway Tskhinvali region is to force the Georgian side to start negotiations on the demarcation of the so-called border.

Abashidze said this is unacceptable and there is no chance Tbilisi will ever start talking about the demarcation of the "border”.

"There is no way we will begin negotiations with the de-facto dealership on this issue. We will do our best to stop this process through the pressure from the international society and our Western partners”, Abashidze said, adding that on a daily basis 80 percent of Georgia’s foreign policy is directed at solving this problem.

Last week Abashidze met with Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Grigory Karasin in Prague after which he travelled to Brussels to meet with European Union (EU) representatives. He summed up these visits at a press conference today.

He said that EU authorities reconfirmed their support for Georgia’s policy towards Russia and said that maintaining a dialogue is important.

He added that the Prague meeting made it possible for Georgia and Russia to restore trade and some humanitarian relations, but, sadly, this progress has not been reflected in Russia’s policy towards the occupied territories of Georgia.

Abashidze said that in Brussels he discussed in detail the situation in the occupied area and the recent developments in the village of Bershueti where the occupants erected new so-called border signs earlier last week.