EU marks 10 years since Russia-Georgia war, condemns Russian aggression

The European Union delegation to the Council of Europe (CoE) has issued a statement agreed upon with the EU heads of the mission to the CoE, which marks the 10th anniversary of the Russia-Georgia 2008 war and condemns Russian aggression in Georgia.

The document reaffirms EU support to Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and says that:

• The EU reiterates its deep concern about the continuing Russian illegal military presence, increased military exercises and infrastructure reinforcements in the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The EU condemns the so-called treaties and deriving agreements with the regions and calls upon Russia to withdraw its forces from the territory of Georgia.
• The EU strongly supports all ongoing and planned confidence-building activities of the CoE, which are complementary to the efforts of the co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions.
• In these ten years, Georgia has strengthened its institutions and undertaken reforms with a view towards strengthening its democratic stability. The EU welcomes the package of proposals "A Step to a Better Future" of the Georgian government that can benefit citizens living on both sides of the administrative boundary lines by facilitating trade, education and mobility.
• The EU regrets that the delegation of the secretariat, the monitoring bodies and the CoE Human Rights Commissioner have not been granted access to the Georgian occupied regions.

See the full text here.