For the first time since the Russia-Georgia war in August 2008, a special group within the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has adopted a declaration on the conflict that supports Georgia's territorial integrity and condemns the occupation of Georgian soil.
This week the OSCE's Group of Friends of Georgia adopted a declaration, which was assessed as an important document that will be part of the package of the OSCE Ministerial Council.
Here are some key points of the declaration:
"Unprecedented support for Georgia”
I thank the group of friends of #Georgia in the frame of #OSCEMC2016 for unprecedented support for #Georgia!
— Mikheil Janelidze (@JanelidzeMkh) December 9, 2016
Georgia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikheil Janelidze said the OSCE Group of Friends of Georgia showed "unprecedented support" for the country by adopting the declaration.
Given the fact that Russia is a party to the conflict and is also a member of the OSCE, while all decisions made within the OSCE are based on consensus, it has always been impossible to adopt a common document,” said Janelidze
However it is very important that for the first time since the 2008 conflict the OSCE Group of Friends of Georgia adopted a declaration that explicitly recognises the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia within its internationally recognised borders.”