US won’t recognise results of any Russian effort to divide Georgian territory - State Dept
Ned Price condemned Russia’s ongoing occupation of the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions, called on Russia to cease the occupation and fulfil its obligations under the terms of the 2008 ceasefire with Georgia. Photo: GettyImages
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The United States will not recognise the results of any effort by “Russia or its proxies” to “divide sovereign Georgian territory”, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Thursday, following information on plans by Georgia’s Russian-occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) to hold a referendum on joining Russia.
Ned Price condemned Russia’s ongoing occupation of the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions, called on Russia to cease the occupation and fulfil its obligations under the terms of the 2008 ceasefire with Georgia.
We will not recognise the results of any effort by Russia or its proxies to divide sovereign Georgian territory. We reaffirm our steadfast commitment to Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders,” the State Department spokesperson said.
The de facto authorities of the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali declared on Wednesday they were set to hold a public referendum to join Russia.
Georgian-Danish bilateral relations and the impact of the ongoing hostilities in Ukraine on the security situation in the Eastern European region were discussed on Thursday in a meeting between Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili and Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod.
No referendum in the Russian-occupied territories has legitimacy, the Speaker of Parliament Shalva Papuashvili said on Thursday in response to the information on the de facto authorities in the Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region planning to hold a referendum on joining the Russian Federation.
Jeppe Kofod, the Danish Foreign Minister, has condemned a referendum planned in Georgia's Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region on the province joining the Russian Federation as “totally unacceptable”.
No referendum in Georgia's Russian-occupied regions will have" any legal force" under the conditions of the occupation, Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani said on Thursday in response to the information on the de facto authorities in the Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region planning to hold a referendum on joining the Russian Federation.
Georgia participates in all kinds of international financial sanctions and resolutions that have been used to support Ukraine amid the Russian invasion, President Salome Zourabichvili told CNN on Thursday.
The actions of Anatoly Bibilov, the de facto president of the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region of Georgia, and his group have “no international legal significance”, Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chairman of the Committee on Human Rights of the Georgian Parliament, said on Friday in response to the information on the de facto authorities in the occupied region planning to hold a referendum on joining the Russian Federation.
The Georgian Government’s “long-term peace policy” will become the “basis for de-occupation” of the Russian-occupied regions of Georgia, Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, said on Friday.
Any referendum by Georgia's Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region to unify with Russia will be illegal and void, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said on Friday in a statement.
Moldova does not recognise the validity of the so-called “elections” set to take place in the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region of Georgia on Sunday, the Moldovan foreign office said on Friday.
The illegitimate presidential elections in Georgia’s Russian-occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia), and a referendum for the region to join the Russian Federation, were on Friday called a “sham” by United States Senator Chris Coons.
Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday said he hoped the recently announced referendum for Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region to join Russia would “not have a continuation”.
Activities of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and the Red Cross Society in Georgia, were discussed on Wednesday in a meeting between the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and IFRC President Francesco Rocca.
The de facto president of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region on Friday announced the territory would hold a referendum on July 17 on whether to become part of Russia.
Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price said in a briefing on Tuesday the United States considered Georgia its strategic partner and was “well positioned” to encourage the country on its path of reforms.
Ned Price, the United States Department of State Spokesperson, said in a briefing on Tuesday the US “strongly supports" the European aspirations of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova.
Abkhazians and Ossetians should “know for sure” that no Georgian government will ever follow the path of achieving deoccupation of its territories through war, Mamuka Mdinaradze, the executive secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, said on Wednesday.