Officials remind world leaders Georgia is still occupied

Georgian officials are embarking on a mission to remind the international community that almost a quarter of Georgian territory is unlawfully occupied.

The country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs announced her intentions to remind Western leaders that 20 percent of Georgian territory has been occupied by Russia for almost six years.

Minister Maia Panjikidze’s comments were in response to European Parliament (EP) President Martin Schulz’s statement claiming Ukraine was the first state in Europe to be annexed by another state since the end of the Cold War.

In his speech to the European Council in Brussels yesterday, Schulz said Russia’s actions were deplorable.

"For the first time in Europe since the end of the Cold War, a State has used force to annex part of another State. Russia has broken international law. That is unacceptable,” he said.

Now, the Georgian side is on a mission to remind him Russia invaded Georgian in 2008, which was after the Cold War, which took place from 1985 to 1991.

"The Georgian Foreign Ministry is going to remind absolutely everyone that Georgia is in Europe and this [situation in Ukraine] was not the first time in the 21st Century when a country’s territorial unity and sovereignty was encroached and international laws were violated.

"This happened in 2008 too. Since then, 20 percent of Georgian land is occupied by Russia and [Georgia’s] two regions are declared as independent states by Russia. So it seems like the European Parliament President has missed this,” Panjikidze said.