Georgian MFA Statement on 10th Anniversary of August War

“10 years since the Russia-Georgia war the Russian Federation has not implemented the EU-mediated 12 August 2008 Ceasefire Agreement and continues violating its international obligations, despite constant calls from the international community,” the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement released on August 7 on the occasion of tenth anniversary of the 2008 Russo-Georgian war.

“In full disregard for the Ceasefire Agreement that obliged Russia to withdraw its forces from the territory of Georgia, Moscow has further reinforced its illegal military presence on the ground and continues to hinder the establishment of international security arrangements in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions of Georgia,” the Ministry added.

The Foreign Ministry then expressed its “great concern” that the security and human rights situation in the occupied territories “has been further deteriorated.”

“While hundreds of thousands of IDPs and refugees, expelled from their homes as a result of several waves of ethnic cleansing, are still deprived of right to the safe and dignified return, those Georgians who remained in the occupied territories continue to be a subject of intensified ethnic discrimination,” the MFA noted.

Despite Russia’s “constant provocative steps,” according to the Foreign Ministry, Georgia has remained committed to its peaceful conflict resolution agenda.

“Georgia has spared no effort to fully utilize the peace negotiations in the frames of the Geneva International Discussions as well as the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanisms to dully address security and humanitarian problems of conflict-affected population stemming from the unresolved conflict between Georgia and Russia,” it said.

The MFA added that Georgia has remained in full compliance with the EU-mediated Ceasefire Agreement and has many times unilaterally reaffirmed the non-use of force commitment. “At the same time, Georgia has intensified the efforts towards engagement and reconciliation between the communities divided by war and occupation lines.”

The Ministry then called on the Russian Federation to comply with its international obligations, including through withdrawing its recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and through full implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement, and on the international community to “further consolidate” its efforts in addressing the consequences of the 2008 war.

In its statement, the Foreign Ministry also expressed condolences to the families of soldiers and civilians killed in the 2008 Russo-Georgian war.

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