Parliament official: killing of Georgian citizen by Russian occupying forces proves conflict “not frozen”

Nikoloz Samkharadze, the Georgian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, on Tuesday said the killing of a Georgian citizen by Russian occupying forces on Monday had proved that the conflict was “not frozen” and “our citizens are constantly in danger on the Russian occupation line”.

In his remarks over the accident near a village adjacent to central Georgia’s occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region, Samkharadze noted the international community must be asked to be “more actively involved” in solving the conflict, so that “such facts can be excluded in the future”.

The incident near Kirbali is a very big tragedy. This is another very serious consequence of the occupation. The fact itself proves that this conflict is not frozen, and our citizens are constantly in danger on the occupation line”, he noted.

“Therefore, we should ask the international community to be more actively involved in solving this conflict, so that such facts can be excluded in the future, and the Georgian citizens can live in a peaceful environment even on the occupation line”, the Parliament official concluded. 

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday called on the international community to make an “appropriate assessment and response” to the development. 

The Georgian national was killed in “firearm shots” as the occupation forces attempted to illegally detain him in the occupied territory, the State Security Service of Georgia said. Another citizen of the country was illegally arrested in the same incident.