Parliamentary Assembly of Francophonie visit occupation line in central Georgia

Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie, together with Georgian Parliament members, on Wednesday visited central Georgia’s village of Odzisi, which separates the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region from the rest of the country, as part of the Assembly's visit to Georgia for the APF European Region’s plenary session.

The representative of the State Security Service informed the APF members about the “severe” humanitarian situation in the Russian-occupied regions of Georgia and along the occupation line, the Georgian Parliament press office said.

Photo via Parliament of Georgia

David Songulashvili, the Georgian MP and the Head of the country’s Parliamentary delegation in the Assembly, expressed hope Georgia would have the “maximum support” of the Assembly on territorial integrity and sovereignty.

On the spot, we got acquainted with the situation in which the local population live, who are often victims of kidnapping. We have seen the conditions they have to live in”, the President of the APF, Francis Drouin said, while expressing his support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Earlier today, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili hosted the APF delegation in the Parliament building, where the guests were introduced to the structure of the legislative body. Papuashvili highlighted Georgia as “one of the first countries” which had granted voting rights to women and allowed their election to the lawmaking body.

Photo via Parliament of Georgia

Georgia is hosting the annual 48th plenary session of the European Region of the APF, a forum for political dialogue involving 90 countries across five continents.