NATO Secretary General concerned over moving occupation line
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has expressed his concern over the developments in the Russian occupied regions of Georgia, Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
Stoltenberg commented on moving the occupation line further into Georgian territory after today’s meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in the Belgian capital of Brussels.
We do not recognise Abkhazia and South Ossetia either as independent states or republic. Both are a part of Georgia under the internationally-recognised borders”, Stoltenberg said.
He said although this issue has not been discussed with Russia today but as the NATO Secretary General he feels concerned for the frequent cases of moving the occupation line.
Stressing that NATO supports peaceful conflict resolution, Stoltenberg said the alliance will continue supporting Georgia to strengthen its efforts of self-defence and stalibilisation as there are foreign troops on its territories.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says that the Alliance supports Georgia’s aspirations to become a NATO member.
A meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission on the ministerial defense level has just come to a conclusion in Brussels, where Georgia’s security situation was reviewed and discussed at length.
Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) says the Alliance never seeks confrontations but it must react when it sees continual military build-up by Russia and Russia's will to use military force against its neighbours.
"NATO allies are extremely impressed with the strides Georgia has made"
"Now we are in a third important phase of NATO’s evolution, which in some ways began to take shape when Russia used military force here in Georgia in 2008. Since then Russia has kept unwanted troops in the Republic of Moldova [and] illegally annexed Crimea,” the NATO leader stressed.
The Russian occupation of Georgian territories and recent acts of land-grabbing were discussed at the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) yesterday.
A group of Georgian citizens have gathered near the occupation line separating the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region from the rest of Georgia today.
United States (US) Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly has travelled to the occupation line where an illegal "border” marked by the Russian troops separates Georgian farmers from their agricultural lands.
Three men have been detained by so-called border guards near Georgia's Russian-occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) in two days.
NATO has rebuked Russian President Vladimir Putin for visiting the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia on the ninth anniversary of the 2008 Russia-Georgia war.