US Department of State: ‘We will not stop working until Russia ends its occupation of sovereign Georgian territory’
Tweet
Share
Print
The United States “will not stop working until Russia ends its occupation of sovereign Georgian territory”, the US Department of State Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said at a news briefing last night.
We support the right of hundreds of thousands of IDPs and refugees to return to their home safely and with dignity. Finally, we stand with the Georgian people and welcome the day we can commemorate the end of Russia’s occupation of their territory”, Ortagus stated.
.@statedeptspox: It has been eleven years since #Russia’s military invasion of #Georgia, when hundreds were killed or injured & over 190,000 civilians were displaced. @StateDept stands with the Georgian people & welcomes the day we can commemorate the end of Russia’s occupation. pic.twitter.com/N8iQJ0VMwq
— Department of State (@StateDept) August 8, 2019
Ortagus said eleven years “since Russia’s military invasion of Georgia” the impact of the conflict continues:
- livelihoods remain destroyed;
- families remain separated;
- freedom of movement has not been restored;
- property has not been returned.
She then underscored that within the last 24 hours, “we received reports that Russian-backed de facto authorities have started the process of borderization at a village near a South Ossetia administrative boundary line”.
If completed, this action would cut the village off from its irrigation system. These actions are a threat to peace and stability”, she stressed.
Ortagus further added that this action shows how “Russia consistently violates the Georgian people’s right to security and property”.
Therefore, the US urges Russia “to reverse its recognition of the so-called independence” of Georgia’s occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions and “to withdraw its forces from the occupied territories”.