US Department of State spokesperson: Russia’s illegal behavior has undermined stability in region
The US Department of State Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus has condemned Russia’s illegal activities in Georgia. Photo: US State Department press office.
Tweet 
Share
The US Department of State Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus has responded to Russia’s most recent illegal activities at the occupation line in Georgia and called on the country to suspend its illegal occupation of Georgian territories.
We once again call on Russia to suspend its illegal occupation of Georgian territory and fulfill its commitments under the 2008 ceasefire agreement. For the last decade, Russia’s illegal, malign behavior has undermined stability and peace in the region. https://t.co/FGzEfQ8h5s
— Morgan Ortagus (@statedeptspox) September 11, 2019
Ortagus shared the video of the US Embassy in Tbilisi, depicting the acting US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker standing at the occupation line on September 8, during his visit to Georgia.
The occupying forces have continued the erection of barbed-wire-fences and other illegal signs on the Tbilisi-administered territory and have constructed two new “police posts’ in the villages which are currently under the control of the central Georgian government.
Two Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali, which comprise 20 per cent of the Georgian territory, are now occupied by Russia.
The Georgian State Security (SSS) says that the occupying forces are carrying out illegal works at two locations within Tbilisi-administered territory, near the village of Chorchana, in the Khashuri municipality. "The actions are destructive and carry high threats, making the situation tense on the ground and complicating the lives of locals,” SSS told the IPN news agency.
The Chair of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák, met with the Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani earlier today.
The new PM of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia has held his first official meeting with acting US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker in Tbilisi earlier today, stating that the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration and further strengthening of relations with the US are the major goals of the new cabinet.
Foreign diplomats and experts, attending the fifth Tbilisi International Conference- Now What?, have visited the occupation line in the village of Odzisi before the opening of the two-day conference earlier today.It is possible to see the Russian base located in the village of Akhmaji from Odzisi.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia spoke of the recent developments along the occupation line between Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region and the rest of Georgia with the European Union Special Representative for the South Caucasus Toivo Klaar yesterday.
"It is of our deepest concern that the so-called crossing points along the occupation line with the Tskhinvali region have been closed, which results in the total isolation of the population residing in the occupied territories and creates a threat of a humanitarian crisis on the ground,” Georgian Foreign Ministry stated.
Co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) said the closure of the crossing points between Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region and the rest of Georgia “is creating additional hardship for the local people and is further raising tensions”.
The US Government has plans to provide $500,000 to fund new enterprises in the Georgian villages along the Russian-occupied territories, the US embassy to Georgia has reported. "Residents along the occupation line need special support,” the embassy said