EU, NATO do not recognise ‘elections’ in occupied Tskhinvali

The European Union does not recognise recent “parliamentary elections” in one of Georgia’s Russian occupied regions of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).

Spokesperson Maja Kocijančič reiterated the EU’s position that it supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia as recognised by international law.

In view of so-called elections that took place on the 9th of June in the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia, we recalled that the European Union does not recognise the constitutional and legal framework in which this so-called elections took place”, stated.

She also underscored that “this has been a long-standing EU position repeated consistently”.

Maja Kocijančič, the Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs & Security Policy; European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations has shared the EU’s position at a news briefing

NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai also stressed yesterday that "NATO does not recognise the so called elections" in Tskhinvali region.

NATO Allies do not recognise the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions of Georgia as independent states. NATO supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia within its internationally recognised borders", Appathurai stated.

Tskhinvali held "parliamentary elections" on June 9, which has been harshly condemned by the Georgian Foreign Ministry as it “blatantly violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognised borders”.

• The de facto leadership of Tskhinvali had temporarily closed the crossing-points connecting the region with the rest of Georgia because of the “elections”.
• Tskhinvali reported that 31,000 voters were registered for the “elections” and polling stations were also opened in Abkhazia and Russia.
• The party of the de facto President of Tskhinvali Anatoly Bibilov, United Ossetia, won the so-called elections.

The United States, three Baltic states, Ukraine and Czech Republic and PACE have also condemned these 'elections' as illegal.