Georgian ruling party MPs visit occupation line, say Russian occupation “temporary”
The Georgian Dream ruling party lawmakers have visited the occupation line erected by Russian-controlled forces in western Georgia. Photo: Parliament press office
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Irakli Beraia, the Chair of the Parliament's Defence and Security Committee from the ruling Georgian Dream, and five other lawmakers from the party on Thursday visited the administrative line separating the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region from the rest of the country and called the occupation “temporary”.
The Parliament’s press office said the MPs observed illegal infrastructure set up by Russian-controlled occupation forces adjacent to the central Georgian region, between the villages of Perevi and Kardzmani.
Beraia said the “artificial barriers” were “temporary” and the occupation of 20 percent of Georgian territories by Russia would “inevitably end”.
The MPs have highlighted the "great efforts" of the country's Interior Ministry and the State Security Service for ensuring safety at ABLs.
Russian occupation is the biggest threat to our country and a great challenge to the rules-based international order”, he said, pointing to the necessity of international pressure on Russia to ensure its compliance with the 2008 ceasefire agreement that ended the war between the two countries.
He also highlighted the importance of maintaining “peace and stability” in the country on the backdrop of Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine, and proceeding with “continuous development of the country and [ensuring] its Euro-Atlantic integration” to facilitate an end to the ongoing occupation.
Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe on Thursday visited the line in central Georgia’s village of Odzisi that separates the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region from the rest of the country, and were briefed on Russia’s occupation efforts along the administrative divide.
The current situation in Georgia’s Russian-occupied territories and near the occupation line, as well as security challenges in the country and “borderisation” activities on shifting the occupation line, was discussed on Wednesday by Grigol Liluashvili, the Head of the Georgian State Security Service and Toivo Klaar, the European Union's Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in the country.
The Georgian state security service officials have demanded “unconditional and immediate release” of Georgian citizens, illegally arrested by the Russian occupation forces, during the 109th meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism in the central Georgian village of Ergneti, the state agency said on Thursday.
Russian occupation forces have illegally detained three Georgian citizens in the village of Mejvriskhevi in central Georgia’s Gori municipality, near the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region, the Georgian state security service confirmed on Tuesday.
The attempted illegal detention of two Georgian citizens near the country’s eastern village of Chvrinisi on April 21 and their release were discussed during the 112th meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism in the central Georgian village of Ergneti, the State Security Service said on Thursday.
Members of a Georgian Parliamentary delegation on Wednesday discussed the country’s security and strategic cooperation with the United States during meetings in the Senate of the State of Georgia.