Creeping occupation: EU Monitoring Mission considers placement of ‘green signs’ unwarranted
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The European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia has released a statement in connection with the recent illegal installation of a so-called border sign across the occupation line in the breakaway Tskhinvali region.
The statement read that following media reports earlier today stating that a new ‘Green Sign’ has been installed in the vicinity of Bershueti (Gduleti), EUMM immediately dispatched a patrol to the area to establish a real time picture of the situation on the ground.
The EUMM said it can confirm that borderisation activities took place in the Gduleti area in June, but is not able to confirm the installation of new ‘Green Signs’ during the past week.
"According to EUMM’s own observations in the area, several ‘Green Signs’ were installed in the vicinity of Bershueti (Gduleti) on 19 June 2017 very close to the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) on a position which is not under control of the Georgian government (Tbilisi Administred Territory)”, the statement read.
It added that nonetheless, the EUMM considers the placement of ‘Green Signs’ unwarranted.
"Borderisation activities in any form, including placing of such signs, create obstacles to the freedom of movement and deprive farmers, who have been farming there for years, from cultivating their land,” the statement read.
The EUMM said that this issue may be discussed at the next Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) Meeting in Ergneti on 11 July 2017.
"The EUMM will continue to monitor borderisation activities closely”, added the statement.
According to recent reports, Russian occupation forces deployed in central Georgia moved the occupation line further into Georgian territory yesterday.
They illegally placed a new so-called border sign in the village of Bershueti in the Gori Municipality, which saw about 10 more hectares of Georgian soil in the heart of the country become occupied by Russia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia has issued a statement expressing its "deep concern” over the illegal installation of a so-called border sign across the occupation line in the breakaway Tskhinvali region, in the area of Bershueti village, Gori district.
The Russian occupation forces deployed in central Georgia have moved the occupation line further into Georgian territory. This step saw about 10 more hectares of Georgian soil in the heart of the country now become occupied by Russia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has released a statement, saying that the recent reports about furthering the Administrative Boundary Line into the depths of Georgia in the Tskhinvali region is a provocation before the Russian and Georgian envoys meet in Prague today.
The Georgian Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Relations with Russia, Zurab Abashidze and the State Secretary and Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Grigory Karasin have met in Prague in what is the only format of direct Georgia-Russia dialogue.
Students have spent an overnight near the occupation line between Georgia and its Russian occupied region of Tshinvali (South Ossetia).
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has said that the occupation has always been and still remains the number one issue for the Georgian government.
The Georgian Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Relations with Russia, Zurab Abashidze has summed up his recent meeting with the State Secretary and Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Grigory Karasin.
The Georgian Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Relations with Russia says that the only aim of erecting new border signs along the ABL with breakaway Tskhinvali region is to force the Georgian side to start negotiations on the demarcation process.
Georgian officials, representatives of international organisations and de-facto authorities from Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions have been sitting around the table for six hours in what they called "one of the most difficult talks” in Ergneti today.