Tbilisi Accuses Moscow of Violating Agreement
The Russian side is continuing to grossly violate the provisions of the six-point ceasefire agreement, which mandates the restoration of the status quo ante prior to the outbreak of hostilities, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on October 10.
“The Russian occupation forces still illegally keep their positions near the village of Perevi, Sachkhere district, and in Akhalgori… together with the Sokhumi separatists they are still exercising illegal control over the territory of Upper Abkhazia, from which the local Georgian population was forcefully expelled,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry said in the statement, which was released in response to a Russia MFA statement.
On October 9 the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the Russian side had already notified the European Union of the withdrawal of Russian forces from the areas adjacent to South Ossetia and Abkhazia “in compliance with the Medvedev-Sarkozy documents signed on August 12 and September 8.”
“Whatever may be the Russian side’s approach to this, making any reference to Russia’s compliance with that part of the six-point ceasefire agreement, which deals with the restoration of the military status quo ante will become possible only after Russian occupation troops have left the entire territory of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry said. “The Russian side would be advised to realize that eventually not a single invader in military uniform will remain on the territory of Georgia.”
It also said that the Russian side was illegally remaining and even increasing its military presence in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and it “is continuing to bar monitors of the European Union and other international organizations from accessing these regions, preventing verification of the number and composition of Russian military personnel.”
The Georgian side also said it would raise the issues of the “safe and dignified” return of internally displaced persons and “the elimination of the consequences of the mass ethnic cleansing policy conducted by Russian occupation troops in Georgia” at international talks in Geneva planned for October 15.
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