Russia continues its occupation

Nine years have passed since the Russia-Georgia war in August 2008, and Georgia’s Foreign Ministry has released a special statement.

Nine years have passed since the war, and still the Russian Federation does not follow the August 12 cease-fire agreement and has been continuing the occupation and annexation of integral parts of a sovereign state in violation of the principles of international law, which is reflected in the illegal integration of Georgia's Abkhazia and South Ossetian regions into the military and socio-economic system of Russia, the militarization of the occupied regions and erection of barbed wire fences and other artificial barriers on the occupation line.

“…illegal detentions and kidnappings of people along the occupation line, restriction of freedom of movement and access by residents of the adjacent territories to their farmlands and houses regularly take place. This situation has been even more aggravated by closure of four so-called crossing points in Abkhazia region,” the Ministry reported.

The Ministry stated that ethnic discrimination and the violation of the fundamental rights of Georgians living in the occupied territories still continues.

While hundreds of thousands of people are being driven out of their homes, the Russian occupation regime treats the oldest Georgian population remaining in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions as foreigners, says the statement.

According to the Ministry, the Russian occupation regime tries to further isolate Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region and deliberately obstructs humanitarian contact between the people living there and the rest of Georgia and the world.

“Despite Russia’s provocative actions, the Government of Georgia continues its unwavering peace policy and strives for peaceful conflict resolution through diplomatic means, negotiations and dialogue. In contrast to the Russian Federation, Georgia stays in firm compliance with the 12 August 2008 Ceasefire Agreement and through constructive engagement tries to achieve the tangible result in the Geneva International Discussions,” the Ministry stated.

Moreover, in light of the systematic use of force by the Russian Federation in the occupied regions, the Georgian government has repeatedly confirmed its commitment to the non-use of force, including at the executive and legislative levels. In response to the erection of artificial barriers on the occupation line, the government of Georgia pursues intensive policy of restoration of trust and relations between the societies split by conflict, said the Ministry.

The Ministry underscored that Georgia highly appreciates the strong support of its partner countries and international organizations for the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and their respective decisions, which greatly contribute to the regulation of the conflict in accordance with the principles of international law.

“After nine years of ongoing occupation, the Georgian side once again calls upon the international community to make consolidated efforts to address the consequences of the August 2008 war and resolve the Russia-Georgia conflict peacefully,” says the statement.

At the end of the statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its condolences to the families and relatives of the war heroes and civilians killed in the war.

The final section of the statement is of the utmost importance as without the string international support it will be very hard for Georgia to reintegrate its territories.

It is obvious that Georgia lacks opportunities to cope with Russia’s aggression alone, however, there are a lot of things governments of Georgia and the Georgian people can settle alone and make the country stronger economically and politically.

Unfortunately, Georgia is still far from being an economically strong nation, wherein people’s welfare is ensured.