Source The United Nations
Media www.rajawalisiber.com – A group of Member States from the Security Council, Albania, France, Japan, Malta, the United Kingdom, and the United States, called on the Russian Federation to implement its obligations and withdraw its military and security forces from Georgia.
The Security Council members today (10 Aug) held the meeting behind closed doors on the situation in Georgia. The meeting was requested by Albania, France, Japan, Malta, the UK, and the US to mark the 15th anniversary of the conflict.
After the meeting, reading a joint statement from the group of ambassadors outside the Security Council, the Permanent Representative of Albania, Ferit Hoxha, said, “Fifteen years have passed since Russia’s full-scale military aggression against and subsequent illegal military presence in 20 percent of Georgia’s sovereign territory.”
Flanked by representatives from Japan, Malta, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, Hoxha continued, “The Russian invasion of Georgia in August 2008 marked a more aggressive trend in Russia’s policy regarding its neighboring countries and the European security architecture. As we are witnessing in Ukraine today, Russia has continued down this path.”
He continued, “We are resolute in our reaffirmation of Georgia’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. We deplore the continuous blatant violation of the territorial integrity of Georgia by the Russian Federation.”
Hoxha added, “We condemn Russia’s invasion, continued military presence, and exercising of effective control over Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region / South Ossetia, which are integral parts of Georgia, and Russia’s steps towards the annexation of these Georgian regions.”
The ambassador also said, “We reiterate our condemnation of Russia’s continuous provocations, which go in parallel with the Russian Federation’s unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine.”
He explained, “the continued military drills in Georgia’s territory, territorial sea, and airspace; the enhanced so-called “borderisation” process by erecting barbed wire fences and other artificial barriers; unlawful detentions and abductions of the local population; interference with freedom of movement and persistent closure from so-called crossing points; discrimination against ethnic Georgians, and the prohibition on education in residents, native language and deliberate damage to Georgian cultural heritage institutions.”