US urges Russia to withdraw forces from parts of Georgia
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
08.08.2018 10:40
The United States has urged Russia to withdraw its forces from Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Moscow-backed separatist regions of Georgia.
A woman weeps at the grave of a fallen soldier during a wreath-laying ceremony at a cemetery in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Wednesday. Photo: EPA/ZURAB KURTSIKIDZE Dostawca: PAP/EPA.
"Our position on the Russian occupied Georgian regions of Abkhazia and also South Ossetia is unwavering,” US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said at a press briefing on Tuesday. “That remains unwavering today. The regions are part of Georgia.”
Nauert added: "They are not part of Russia and the United States continues to support Georgia's sovereignty, its independence and also its territorial integrity within the internationally recognised borders.
“This is a policy that has not changed … the United States urges Russia to withdraw its forces to the pre-invasion war positions … per the 2008 ceasefire agreement.”
Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine on Tuesday called on Russia to "reverse its illegal recognition of the so-called independence" of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
In a joint statement issued on the 10th anniversary of "the Russian military aggression against Georgia," the four countries demanded that Russia "fully implement" the 2008 ceasefire agreement and "engage in a constructive manner into the process of Geneva International Discussions (GID)," which were launched in Geneva, Switzerland, in October 2008, to address the consequences of the conflict in Georgia.
Poland’s foreign ministry on Monday called on Moscow to “abandon its aggressive and provocative policy” toward Georgia.
The foreign ministers of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia and the deputy prime minister of Ukraine were in Georgia on Monday and Tuesday "to jointly commemorate the victims of the war and in a gesture of solidarity with the Georgian state and people," as Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz put it.
The joint trip to Tbilisi followed in the footsteps of the late Polish President Lech Kaczyński, who in August 2008 organised a visit in support of Georgia.
Wednesday marks exactly 10 years since the outbreak of the Russo-Georgian war over South Ossetia, public broadcaster Polish Radio's IAR news agency reported.
(gs/pk)
Source: IAR, state.gov