UN Security Council Members Condemn Russia Actions on August War Anniversary

Civil.ge

a day ago

On the occasion of the 17th anniversary of the 2008 Russo-Georgian war, United Nations Security Council members once again condemned Russia's actions against its neighbors, including in Georgia's occupied territories.
'The Russian invasion of Georgia in August 2008 demonstrated the start of Russia's more aggressive stance toward its neighbors. Russia has continued down this path with its unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine,' representatives of five UN Security Council countries
said
in a joint statement issued August 18.
The statement followed a closed-door meeting in the UN Security Council on August 18. During the meeting, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia, and the Americas in the UN Department of Political Affairs, Miroslav Jenča, debriefed Security Council participants on the situation in occupied territories and provided updated information about the Geneva International Discussions, the Georgian Foreign Ministry
reported
.
After the meeting, several members of the U.N. Security Council, including Denmark, France, Greece, the United Kingdom, and Slovenia, as well as incoming member Latvia, held a press briefing as Slovenia's deputy permanent representative to the U.N., Ondina Blokar Drobič,
read
the joint statement.
The United States was notably absent from the joint statement, having joined similar statements in the past.
The statement opened by marking the 17th anniversary of Russia's aggression against Georgia and its subsequent illegal military presence in Georgia's Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions.
The authors said they are resolute in reaffirming Georgia's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. The statement further condemned Russia's invasion and continued illegal military presence in contravention of the U.N. Charter and its exercise of effective control, as well as steps toward annexation of the two Georgian regions.
The statement reiterated condemnation of 'Russia's continuous provocations, violations of international law, and militarization of the two Georgian regions,' referring, among others, to the unlawful detentions of Georgian citizens, discrimination against ethnic Georgians, as well as the establishment of unauthorized flights, railway, and naval connections between Russia and Abkhazia.
It further condemned the killings of Georgian citizens, including
Davit Basharuli
,
Giga Otkhozoria
,
Archil Tatunashvili
,
Tamaz Ginturi
,
Vitali Karbalia
, and
Irakli Kvaratskhelia
, saying the perpetrators must be held accountable.
'We remain deeply concerned with the fact that Russia has not upheld its obligations under the EU-mediated 2008 ceasefire agreement to withdraw its forces to the lines held prior to the outbreak of hostilities, nor met its commitment to allow unhindered access for international human rights monitoring mechanisms, such as the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,' the statement added.
Expressing commitment to the Geneva International Discussions, the statement calls it the 'sole format' to ensure implementation of the EU-brokered cease-fire and the return of internally displaced persons and refugees to their homes.
The statement expressed support for EU monitoring missions, in particular the continued meetings as part of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism in the village of Ergneti near the Tskhinvali region, while stressing the necessity for the 'immediate resumption' of the same format in Gali in Abkhazia.
'We once again call on Russia to fully implement the 2008 ceasefire agreement and withdraw its forces from the territory of Georgia without delay.'
'We reiterate our 17-year-old call to Russia to reverse the recognition of the so-called independence of the two Georgian regions, not to impede the creation of international security mechanisms, and to allow access of international human rights and humanitarian organizations to both regions,' the statement said.
'We stress the necessity of a peaceful resolution of the Russia-Georgia conflict based on international law, including the U.N. Charter and the Helsinki Final Act,' the statement added.
The participants left the scene without responding to a journalist's question about how a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine would affect Georgia's sovereignty.
After the Security Council session, Russia criticized European diplomacy. 'You've just seen a very vivid illustration of the absolutely pathetic uselessness of European diplomacy…They just tried to take out of the mothballs a conflict that is not current today, with the only aim to undermine ongoing efforts to normalize relations between Russia and Georgia,' Russia's first deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy,
told
the press.
The official added that Moscow values trade and tourism ties with Georgia and aims to establish 'good and neighborly relations,' while resisting what it described as efforts to turn Georgia into a 'pawn in [their] geopolitical interests.'
Note: This news article was updated on Aug. 19 at 3:55 p.m. to include a Russian official's response and the absence of the U.S. from the joint statement.
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