US Embassy: Russia continues to encroach deeper into Georgia, trying to expand occupied territories meter by meter
The US Embassy to Georgia has responded to the 12th anniversary of the Russia-Georgia war. Photo: US Embassy, Tbilisi.
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The US Embassy to Georgia has responded to the 12th anniversary of the Russia-Georgia 2008 war, stating that ‘August 7 is a somber reminder of the thousands who have suffered and continue to suffer in the wake of Russia’s invasion.’
The embassy said the international community witnessed a ‘major Russian-led incursion’ last year, attempting to take control of hundreds of meters of additional Georgian territory near Chorchana-Tsnelisi.
Russian-led security forces continue to encroach deeper into Georgian territory, trying to expand the occupied territories meter by meter,” said the embassy.
The embassy stated that thousands of Georgians remain internally displaced and the people living in the currently Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions are deprived of fundamental human rights.
Today, we remember residents forced out of their homes and forced to live as internally displaced persons. We remember innocent civilians who died because the de facto authorities closed the Administrative Boundary Lines (ABL) and denied them access to emergency medical care. We remember families torn apart and robbed of their livelihoods by illegal ‘borderization’ activities. As the whole world grapples with the effects of COVID-19, Georgia also suffers from the loss of trade between communities now cut off by arbitrary lines, further hampering economic recovery,” said the embassy.
The embassy said that Russia’s responsibilities under the 2008 ceasefire agreement are clear.
Russia must withdraw its forces to pre-conflict positions and allow unfettered access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance. We also call again on Russia to reverse its recognition of the so-called independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” said the embassy.
The statement reads that the US commitment to “our friends and partners in Georgia remains steadfast...we stand with the people of Georgia and join them in calling for these communities, divided by Russian aggression, to be united once again”.
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.
Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, UK, US, Ireland and Norway have expressed support for Georgia following the UN Security Council’s online meeting yesterday, which discussed developments since the Russia-Georgia 2008 war.The countries condemned Russia’s occupation of Georgian territories, creeping occupation, the illegal detention of Georgian citizens and other unlawful activities by the Russian-controlled occupation forces over the past 12 years.
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 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.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia says that Russia must end its destabilisation actions in Georgia while speaking on the occasion of the 12th anniversary of the Russia-Georgia 2008 war, referring to the occupation of 20 per cent of Georgian territories and the creeping occupation.The EU, UN, US and several top foreign officials have already responded to the anniversary of the war, condemning the occupation and calling upon Russia to withdraw its forces from historic Georgian lands.
MEPs Viola Von Cramon and Andrius Kubilius have responded to the 12th anniversary of the Russia-Georgia war, stating that ‘2008 events were preceded by Russia’s decades-long aggression and provocations’.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia calls on the Russian Federation to cease its illegal and provocative steps against Georgia, fulfil its obligations under the Ceasefire Agreement of August 12, 2008, and withdraw its forces from Georgian territory.
Georgian national flags were lowered to half mast on Saturday as government officials and Georgia's international partners marked 12 years since the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia.
The US Department of State has called on Russia to withdraw its forces from the occupied regions of Georgia and fulfil obligations of the 2008 ceasefire agreement it signed to end the conflict.
Russian-controlled occupation forces continue to erect new iron poles and fences near the Nikozi village of central Georgia, Gori municipality, about 15 metres from the occupation line.
The Russian-controlled occupation forces have resumed the creeping occupation near the village of Ghogheti, Kareli municipality in central Georgia, close to the country’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region. The occupation forces have made the so-called anti-fire tilths on the Tbilisi-controlled territory. Locals say that their lands have appeared under the Russian-controlled following the illegality.