President of European Council concerned by creeping annexation, death of Georgian citizen in Tskhinvali
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The President of the European Council Donald Tusk has expressed his concern over the death of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili and the detention of two others in Georgia’s Russian occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
Meeting with Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili in Brussels, Belgium today, Tusk said the European Union (EU) remains fully committed to conflict resolution efforts and supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders.
We are concerned about the attempts of creeping annexation in the two breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia”.
The recent tragic death of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili and the detention of two others in South Ossetia was a sad reminder of the costs caused by the conflict”, Tusk said.
Tatunashvili and two other Georgian citizens citizens Levan Kutashvili and Ioseb Pavliashvili were detained by occupation forces on February 22 in the area of Akhalgori, on territory currently controlled by Russians.
Fourteen days after Tatunashvili’s death, his body has not been handed over to his family for burial, while Kutashvili and Pavliashvili still remain in occupied Tskhinvali.
Upon the request of Georgian Patriarch Ilia II Russian Patriarch Kirill has promised to mediate in the process of handing over Tatunashvili’s body to Tbilisi-administered territory in the shortest period of time possible.
The co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions have expressed their concern over the death of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili under unclear circumstances in Georgia’s Russian occupied region of Tskhinvali.
Thirteen days after Tatunashvili’s death, his body has not been handed over to his family for burial and two other Georgian citizens Levan Kutashvili and Ioseb Pavliashvili, detained with Tatunashvili on February 22, still remain in the occupied region.
Amnesty International has issued a statement concerning the death of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili in Georgia’s Russian occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia). Twelve days have passed since the death of Tatunashvili, aged 35, in unclear circumstances in the occupied Tskhinvali region.
People gathered at the Freedom Square in the centre of Tbilisi today to condemn death of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili in the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region. Demonstrators brought flowers and lit candles in memory of the 35-year-old, who died in the occupied region under unclear circumstances on February 23.
Georgia’s prime minister has said the body of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili, who died in the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali, will be buried on home soil. In a statement released Sunday, Giorgi Kvirikashvili said it was a tragedy that the family could not mourn the loss of their loved one.
The President of the European Council Donald Tusk says the accomplishment of the visa-free regime and the increase in bilateral trade are some of the most visible examples of solid and expanding cooperation between the European Union (EU) and Georgia over the past year.
"I urge the leadership of the Russian Federation to take joint steps and resolve this complicated situation”, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has said. This August marks the 10th anniversary since the war of 2008, which according to PM Kvirikashvili "has left a tremendous mark on the Georgian people’s minds and Georgia-Russia relations”.
A part of the highland Abkhaz village Aibgha, located on the official Georgia-Russia border, has been registered as Russian territory. The village is located in a district of the Abkhaz town of Gagra and opinions on which country it belongs to have been controversial for years as the Russia-Georgia border divides it into two parts.