Moscow: Reports on creeping occupation are “false allegations”

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.

"Regrettably, as it so often happens, the eve of the Prague meeting was overshadowed by a provocation”, the statement read.

"False allegations that are fabricated in such cases are very repetitive. Tbilisi has claimed one more time that South Ossetia [Tskhinvali region] is putting up its border signs in the depth of Georgian territory. We have no doubt that the review of this matter via the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism will convincingly expose these absurd claims, like was the case all previous times before”, it added.

The statement also said that "the opponents of the normalisation of Russian-Georgian relations will not hamper the holding of a productive meeting due to be held in Prague”.

The State Secretary and Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Grigory Karasin and the Georgian Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Relations with Russia, Zurab Abashidze, are expected to hold a regular meeting in Prague today. The Ministry statement said that the meeting will be attended by representatives of the transportation departments of both countries.

It added that during the consultations the sides will continue discussing practical issues for normalising and developing Russian-Georgian commercial, transportation and humanitarian relations. The sides will exchange views on a "fairly urgent matter” which is that of the implementation of the 2011 agreement on the mechanism of customs administration and monitoring of regional trade.

"Russia and Georgia have already done much preparatory work with Switzerland’s mediation. There is a real opportunity to sign a contract in the near future, which is necessary for the implementation of the agreement. We hope that Tbilisi will present explanations on the customs processing of cargo on Georgian territory, about which Russia enquired a long time ago”, read the statement.

Abashidze-Karasin meeting in Prague is the only format of direct dialogue between Georgia and Russia since the two countries cut off diplomatic ties after the 2008 war. The format was launched in late 2012 and covers mainly only trade and economic related issues. It does not touch upon politics.

Earlier this week reports said that Russian occupation forces deployed in central Georgia moved the occupation line further into Georgian territory. 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.