OSCE Group of Friends of Georgia reaffirm their “full support” for country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Group of Friends of Georgia on Friday delivered a statement reaffirming their “full support” for the country's  sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.

The Group condemned Russia’s aggression against Georgia in 2008 and expressed their “deep concern” over Russia’s ongoing military occupation of the country's Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions, underlining the need for the peaceful resolution of the conflict based on full respect for international law and commitments, including the United Nation Charter and the Helsinki Final Act.

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Georgia’s compliance with the EU-mediated 2008 ceasefire agreement has been welcomed, with the group calling upon Russia to fulfil “immediately” its clear obligation under the agreement to withdraw its forces to pre-conflict positions, as well as its commitments to allow unfettered access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and not to impede the creation of international security arrangements on the ground.

We call upon Russia to reverse its recognition of the so-called independence of Georgia’s Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions'', the statement read, while also condemning Russia’s actions which appear intended to unilaterally establish the Georgia-Russia state border on the segments of the occupied territories and incorporate a part of Aibga village of Georgia into Krasnodar Krai, as well as Russia’s seizure of 180 hectares of land in the Gagra district of Abkhazia, Georgia.

In its statement the countries also expressed concern over “ongoing” activities within the framework of implementation of the so-called ‘programme’ on creation of a common socio-economic space between Russia and the Georgia’s occupied Abkhazia, as well as the so-called agreement on dual citizenship with the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia), calling it “another step toward attempted illegal annexation”. The holding of so-called parliamentary elections in the Abkhazia region, as well as so-called presidential elections in South Ossetia in 2022, was also condemned.

The January 2021 judgement of the European Court of Human Rights on the Russia-Georgia war, which stated that Russia had violated several articles of the European Convention on Human rights during the conflict and carried out ethnic cleansing of Georgians and the June 2022 decision of the International Criminal Court that issued arrest warrants for alleged war crimes committed during Russia’s invasion in 2008 were also mentioned in the statement.

We condemn the killing of Georgian citizens Archil Tatunashvili, Giga Otkhozoria, and Davit Basharuli, and urge Russia to remove any obstacles to bringing the perpetrators to justice. In this context, we reiterate our support for Georgia’s preventive steps aimed at eradicating impunity and note the Otkhozoria-Tatunashvili List adopted by the government of Georgia”, the group indicated.

The group also expressed “deep concern” over the “continuous discrimination” against Georgians on the grounds of ethnicity in the occupied regions and over the ongoing installation of barbed wire fences and other artificial barriers along the occupation line, as well as arbitrary detentions and continuous restrictions on freedom of movement, which had “destabilised” the situation on the ground and “severely impacted” the security, safety, well-being, and humanitarian conditions of civilians in conflict-affected areas, particularly in Akhalgori district.

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The multi-stakeholder process for developing a comprehensive ‘State Strategy for de-occupation and peaceful conflict resolution’ by the Georgian Government and the strategic review of the reconciliation and engagement policy were welcomed by the group, with them expressing support for the Government’s ‘A Step to a Better Future’ peace initiative, which aims to improve the humanitarian and socio-economic conditions of people residing in Georgia’s Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions and to “foster” confidence building “among divided communities”. 

The statement said the Group of Friends of Georgia including Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia and Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States would continue to raise awareness of the conflict and developments on the ground, hold Russia accountable for its obligations and commitments, and advocate for the conflict’s peaceful resolution.