Russia should cease occupying the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and fully respect the territorial integrity of Georgia, MEPs urged on Thursday.
The resolution stresses that after 10 years of military aggression against Georgia, Russia continues its illegal occupation of the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It was Russia’s first major attack on the European order, followed by other acts of aggression, such as the annexation of Crimea and the war in Eastern Ukraine, MEP say.
MEPs note that Russia refuses to implement the EU-mediated ceasefire agreement of 12 August 2008 and constantly reinforces its illegal military presence in those regions.
The European Parliament supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia and demands that Russia reverses its decision to recognise the so-called independence of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Parliament’s Foreign affairs Committee Chair David McAllister (EPP, DE) said: “This is a frozen conflict, but it shouldn’t become a forgotten one. Three actions are required from Russia to solve the conflict: fulfilling unconditionally all the provisions of the ceasefire agreement, ceasing “borderisation” on the administrative boundary line and refraining from advancing further into Georgian territory, and allowing for the return of all displaced Georgian citizens”.
MEPs call on Russia to withdraw all its military forces from those regions, to guarantee full access to the occupied territories to the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) and to stop installing barbed wire fences which hinder face-to-face contact and isolate the population.
The EU is ready to help
The EU is strongly committed to contributing to the peaceful resolution of the Russia-Georgia conflict, say MEPs, hinting at different tools at its disposal, such as the Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, its co-chairmanship of the Geneva International Discussions and the EUMM in Georgia.
The resolution on Georgian occupied territories 10 years after the Russian invasion was passed by a show of hands.
