Georgian PM: we won’t tolerate neither the old nor the new barbed wire fences
The Georgian PM says that all allies and the international community have been informed about Russia’s illegal actions in Georgia. Photo: N.Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze has stated that the government will not tolerate neither old nor new barbed wire fences on its historic land, responding to the erection of new barbed wire fences by occupants at the village of Atotsi near the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region.
Bakhtadze stated that the new barbed wire fences are the “visiting card” of the occupants, who have been carrying out a creeping occupation on Georgian soil since the Russia-Georgia 2008 war.
We will use all available levers to stop the process. Our allies and all international organisations have been informed regarding the illegal activity. We have the firm support of the international community, and I am sure that we will end this injustice,” Bakhtadze said.
He stated that the government of Georgia will continue to support families living in villages located near occupation lines.
Georgian Minister of Reconciliation and Civil Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili came to Atotsi yesterday and stated that with this step, Russia is isolating the Tskhinvali region from the outside world and creating problems mostly for Ossetians.
Russia occupied 20 per cent of Georgian land during the 2008 war after which it launched the creeping occupation of the country.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani says that the international community condemns Russia’s illegal actions in Georgia.
Acting US Ambassador to Georgia Elisabeth Rood states that her country continues to urge Russia withdraw its troops from historic Georgian lands.
Georgian Minister of Reconciliation and Civil Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili has come to the Atotsi village of Kareli municipality today, where occupants are erecting new barbed wire fences and stated that through this step, Russia is isolating the Tskhinvali region from the outside world and is creating “unbearable” conditions for ethnic Ossetians.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry has condemned the erection of new illegal barbed wire fences at the villages of Atotsi and Balta of the Kareli municipality, near the country’s occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region in the eastern part of Georgia.
Russia-controlled border guards and the leadership of Georgian eastern occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region are erecting barbed wire fences at the village of Balta, in the Kareli district of Georgia.
The Georgian occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) de facto parliament has created a ‘border delimitation-demarcation commission’ and is now saying that it is "unjust” that the village Tsnelisi is not "within the border of the South Ossetian republic.”Both the commission and the statement on the village have been assessed as provocative and as a violation of all international law by Tbilisi.
The European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM), the only international monitoring presence in Georgian [with no access to occupied regions] has confirmed that “significant borderisation activities have been taking place in the area of the Georgian villages of Atotsi (Balta) since early November 2018.”
Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini has condemned Russia’s illegal activities in Georgia and the erection of new barbed wire fences by occupants in the Georgian village of Atotsi.
A statement made by representative of de-facto Tskhinvali Yegor Kochiev for ‘South Ossetian’ news agency Res clearly shows that the Russian-occupied region plans to continue the borderisation process to “simplify the lives of people” in the unrecognised region.
92 Georgian citizens have been illegally detained for crossing the so-called border of occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region this year – the same figure for the breakaway region of Abkhazia amounted to 25, the Georgian State Security Service told Agenda.ge.
Occupying forces have detained two Georgian citizens for “illegally crossing the border” earlier today near the occupation line with the breakaway Abkhazia region, the Georgian State Security Service has confirmed.
The occupying forces in the two Russia-controlled Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) have detained 327 Georgian citizens for “illegally crossing the border” between 2017 and 2019, the Georgian State Security Service says. The agency reports that 242 of 327 were detained for “illegally crossing the border” between Georgia and its eastern occupied Tskhinvali region.