Official Tbilisi condemns occupation forces' "destructive" borderisation amid pandemic

The incident of borderisation carried out by occupation forces in central Georgia's Kareli Municipality on Friday have been condemned in responses of the official Tbilisi as "destructive" acts amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

Reacting to the unlawful actions near the village of Takhtisdziri in the municipality, where signs denoting "state borders" were erected by the occupying forces, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia and the Office of the State Minister of Georgia for Reconciliation and Civic Equality released their statements earlier today.

The foreign office said it "categorically condemned" the incident that placed locals in "intolerable conditions" through limiting their access to farmlands.

Such destructive actions are particularly concerning in circumstances in which the entire world is attempting to combat the spread of the coronavirus infection," the ministry said.

The ministry also pointed to damage caused to locals of the Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region by a recent closure of points of crossing of the administrative divide by the occupying forces, which it said had prevented the civilians from receiving medical treatment on the Georgian-controlled territory.

Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, the State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, the actions had "clearly demonstrated" the nature of the occupation regime.

The minister's press office told Georgian media co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions, the only platform of talks involving both Georgian and Russian sides since the 2008 war between the states, had been notified of the incident near Takhtisdziri.

The European Union Monitoring Mission on the ground has also received information from Georgian state agencies about the actions revealed earlier by Georgia's State Security Service.