EUMM Georgia marks 14th anniversary in country as only foreign mission monitoring Russian occupation
EUMM Georgia was deployed in September 2008 following an EU-mediated ceasefire that ended the war between Russia and Georgia in August of that year. Photo: EUMM Georgia press office
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The European Union Monitoring Mission, the only foreign mission in Georgia observing activities adjacent to the Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia), celebrated the 14th anniversary of its presence in the country on Thursday.
Speaking at a press briefing on the anniversary, EUMM mission head Marek Szczygieł said the mission had contributed to stability in Georgia and the wider region over the past 14 years.
Based on the mission’s four lines of operation with regards to the occupation - stabilisation, normalisation, confidence-building and informing EU policy - the European Union official emphasised key developments and challenges in the mission’s work in his comments.
Video by EUMM Georgia: "it highlights who we are, what we do, but especially why we are doing it. Our main objective remains unchanged: to contribute to stability in Georgia and the wider region".
Pointing to the stabilisation efforts, Szczygieł said currently the mission was conducting around 15 patrols a day, or around 100 patrols a week, along the occupation lines.
Since 1 October 2008, EUMM has conducted 82,021 patrols. Through our round-the-clock monitoring presence on the ground, especially along the administrative boundary lines, we make sure that there is no return to hostilities. It has a preventative effect”, said the mission head.
- See Agenda.ge multimedia: EU’s eyes and ears on Russia’s creeping occupation of Georgia
In normalisation activities, Szczygieł stressed the de facto authorities’ frequent closure of crossing points between the occupied regions and the rest of Georgia, restrictions on local populations’ freedom of movement, banning of ethnic Georgians’ right to education in their mother tongue, installation of illegal barriers and abduction of individuals for “illegally crossing the border”, were “very challenging”.
Currently four Georgian citizens are detained in Tskhinvali, two in Sokhumi [the Abkhazian regional capital]. Through the available platforms our mission constantly advocates for a quick release of those prisoners and that a humanitarian approach is applied”, said the official while welcoming the recent opening of several crossing points after years of closure.
In remarks about confidence-building, Szczygiel said the 108th meeting of the Ergneti Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism - a platform facilitating meetings between de facto authorities and Georgian officials - would take place on September 23, adding that over the years, the meetings had resulted in “numerous practical achievements”, ranging from the release of detainees to other issues important to local populations.
Today, @EUMMGeorgia_HoM Marek Szczygieł hosted a press conference on the 1⃣4⃣th anniversary of @EUMMGeorgia. He explained how our Mission has contributed to stability in Georgia, and stressed key developments and challenges.
— EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (@EUMMGeorgia) September 15, 2022
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Stressing the “crucial role” of the EUMM-managed hotline to swiftly respond to various incidents, the mission head said the hotline had been activated 17,781 times since its establishment.
Explaining the element of informing EU policy, Szczygieł introduced the press on the monitoring mission’s contribution to the EU and member states’ foreign policy with Georgia and the wider region through its provision and relaying of “impartial and objective information”.
This is of the utmost importance so that decision-makers can see the security situation here with their own eyes. This allows them to take informed decisions and develop better policies towards the region”, said the mission head.
EUMM Georgia was deployed in September 2008, following an EU-mediated ceasefire which ended the war between Russia and Georgia in August of that year, to contribute to “stabilisation, normalisation and confidence-building between the conflict parties”.
Headquartered in Tbilisi, the mission has field offices in the central Georgian city of Gori - near occupied Tskhinvali - as well as the central-eastern city of Mtskheta and Zugdidi in the west of the country, near occupied Abkhazia.
Marek Szczygiel the new head of the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) to Georgia said he is “looking forward to working with the great and dedicated team” of the mission. Szczygiel, a long serving Polish diplomat, was officially appointed as the EUMM head earlier today.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani has welcomed the appointment of Marek Szczygiel as new head of the European Monitoring Mission (EUMM) to Georgia. Szczygiel, a long serving Polish diplomat, was officially appointed as the EUMM head earlier today.
The EU Council has prolonged the mandate of the European Union monitoring mission in Georgia (EUMM) until December 14, 2022. EUMM announced on Friday that the decision follows a strategic review of the mission by the Political and Security Committee.
The European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) said today’s Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) meeting “was marked by a series of intense exchanges on the topic of Tsnelisi between participants”.
Russian-controlled occupation forces on Tuesday released Nukri Kalashnikov, a Georgian citizen illegally arrested in June, from a prison in the occupied Tskhinvali region in central Georgia, the Georgian state security service confirmed.
Marek Szczygieł, the head of the European Union monitoring mission in Georgia, on Wednesday hosted a delegation of the Council of European Union Working Party on Eastern Europe and Central Asia in the central Georgian village of Odzisi, adjacent to the country’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region, to brief them about consequences of the occupation.
Anniken Huitfeldt, the foreign minister of Norway, on Tuesday visited sections of the administrative boundary line in central Georgia’s village of Khurvaleti that separates the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region from the rest of the country.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Tuesday held a farewell meeting with Ambassador Marek Szczygieł, the Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia, with the latter’s diplomatic term in the country coming to a close.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday thanked Marek Szczygieł, the Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia, for “effective work” in office, ahead of the end of term in the mission for the official.
The European Union Monitoring Mission on Tuesday said Russian troops had fired several shots into the air during the latest of the Mission’s regular patrols near the occupation line separating the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) from the rest of Georgia in the central Georgian village of Mejvriskhevi earlier this week.
The Council of the European Union has appointed Dimitrios Karabalis, a Greek diplomat, as the new Head of Mission for the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia, by the decision of the Political and Security Committee, the Council announced on Tuesday.
Georgia has been supporting the principles of security in Europe and standing with its partners in ensuring international peace and stability, Irakli Beraia, the Chair of the Defence and Security Committee in the Georgian Parliament, said on Saturday in his address at the Inter-Parliamentary Conference for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy of the European Union.
Activities of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia and the current developments in the wider region were discussed on Monday in a meeting between the Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and Dimitrios Karabalis, the newly appointed EUMM Head in Georgia.
The security situation near the Russian occupation line and in the Russian-occupied regions of Georgia, and release of Georgian citizens illegally detained by de facto authorities in the territories were discussed on Monday in a meeting between Grigol Liluashvili, the Head of the Georgian State Security Service and Dimitrios Karabalis, the Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia.
The European Union and Georgia share the “common vision” of a “peaceful and prosperous” South Caucasus region, with the country remaining “one of the closest and most important partners” of the bloc in the region, Pawel Herczynski, the EU Ambassador to Georgia, said on Thursday.
Dimitrios Karabalis, the head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia, on Tuesday responded to the 15th anniversary of the Russia-Georgia 2008 war by saying “consequences of armed conflicts are long-lasting, and the road to reconciliation and recovery can be challenging”.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday said the European Union Monitoring Mission - which observes developments adjacent to the Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) - was a “symbol of the close cooperation” and “strong support” from “our European friends”.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday said his Government had ensured “continuous peace” while in office since 2012 that promoted the country’s economic advancement, in his address to an event dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia.