US Department of State condemns Russia’s redoubled efforts of ‘borderisation’ amid pandemic
The US has once again called upon Russia to withdraw its forces from Georgian territory. Photo: Reuters.
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The US Department of State has condemned Russia's redoubled efforts of ‘borderisation’ amid pandemic.
The US Department of State spokesperson has tweeted:
The U.S. condemns ongoing "borderization” by Russian-led security forces. We renew our demand that Russia end its occupation of 20 percent of Georgia, fulfill its 2008 commitments, withdraw its forces, and allow unimpeded delivery of international humanitarian assistance. https://t.co/Xdr8v1m2Bq
— Morgan Ortagus (@statedeptspox) May 28, 2020
The US embassy to Georgia condemned Russia’s actions along the occupation line yesterday, stating that “over the past two weeks, these Russian-led security forces have erected unauthorised fences and reinforced existing illegal ‘borderisation’ efforts near 12 separate Georgian villages.”
The US embassy also responded to Russia’s continued attacks on the US-built, Tbilisi Lugar Centre.
The US embassy to Georgia has stated that as the world marks the anniversary of Georgian independence and celebrates Georgia’s success in combating COVID-19, the United States protests the ongoing, provocative ‘borderisation’ by Russian-led security forces along the occupation line of the Russian-occupied Georgian territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali.
Russia has demanded access to all blocks and documentation of the US-built, Tbilisi Lugar Centre, and once again accused the lab of ‘conducting dangerous experiments’ following yesterday's repeat invitation from Tbilisi to receive Russian experts there. Russia says that they want the visit ‘without the presence of international organisations, in a bilateral format.’
Georgian Foreign Ministry says that Russia has been particularly active in its creeping annexation of more Georgian territories over the past two months and its (Russia’s) fight against the US-built Lugar Centre in Tbilisi has become intense.
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.
The Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the OSCE has condemned the illegal ‘borderisation’ activities of Russia and its proxies in Georgia.“Those activities, lately reinforced under the smoke screen of COVID-19 pandemic, are totally unacceptable and must stop immediately”, it stated.
The UK has expressed support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as Russia doubled its occupation efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.
Leaders of the Georgian two occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali have arrived in Russia to attend celebrations dedicated to the end of WWII amid threats of the coronavirus.
Russia says it is concerned by the ‘more frequent and provocative statements and actions of Georgia’ towards currently occupied Tskhinvali and Abkhazia regions of Georgia, and accuses the US Department of State and the US Embassy in Georgia of ‘provocative activities.’
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office report for 2019 says that increased Russian interference led to a sharp deterioration in the human rights situation in the two Russian-occupied regions of Georgia-Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
The Russian-controlled occupation forces have resumed the erection of illegal barriers in the Takhtrisdziri village of Kareli municipality, central Georgia, near the currently occupied Tskhinvali region of Georgia.
The EU delegation to Georgia has responded to the 12th anniversary of the Russia-Georgia war, stating that Russia continues its illegal presence on the Georgian territory and that the EU’s commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflicts in Georgia ‘remains as strong as ever’.“Unfortunately, tensions have remained high over recent months and the Russian military presence in both Abkhazia and South Ossetia continues in violation of international law and commitments undertaken under the 12 August 2008 agreement,” said the statement released by the EU delegation to Georgia earlier today.
‘Georgia, located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, is a small but open market that derives benefits from international trade, tourism, and transportation’, the US State Department reported earlier today in its 2020 Investment Climate Statement.
The occupation forces have resumed illegal ‘borderisation’ activities along the Kareli municipality close to the Russian-occupied Georgian region of Tskhinvali.The State Security Service says that the illegal ‘borderisation’ in the villages of Takhtisdziri and Gvirgvina has been underway since 2013.
The Lugar Laboratory, a Tbilisi-based research centre, is “transparent” and there are no question marks about it, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said on Friday in comments on recent allegations originating in Russia and concerning the biological research facility.