Georgia expresses concern over EU representative’s visit to South Ossetia

  17 May 2017    Read: 10447
Georgia expresses concern over EU representative’s visit to South Ossetia
Official Tbilisi has expressed concern over Tuesday’s incident in de facto South Ossetia (Tskhinvali) when the European Union Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia and the co-Chair of Geneva International Talks, Herbert Salber congratulated the so-called president Anatoly Bibilov on winning the ‘presidential elections’ held in April, Georgia Today reported.
Georgia’s Foreign Ministry stated this step was “incomprehensible and unacceptable” and contradicts the principles of international law and does not support the efforts of Georgia and the international community aimed at finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

Moreover, the Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to Georgia, Janos Herman, and the Deputy Foreign Minister Davit Dondua held a meeting in the Foreign Ministry over the issue.

After the meeting, Herman said that Herbert Salber would make explanations himself.

He added that the EU does not recognize so-called presidential elections held in Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia and also recognizes and support Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

“We had a talk with the Deputy Minister about cooperating in this field and I would like to reiterate that the European Union does not recognize the framework in which the so-called elections were held in Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia”, said the Ambassador.

Davit Dondua said that EU was one of the first to condemn the so-called elections in Tskhinvali.

“We are in touch with the EU leadership and we hope that this will be properly responded by Brussels,” he stressed.

Sopo Katsarava, Chair of the Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Relations of Georgia says that Salber’s statement contradicts not only Georgia’s sovereignty but the EU politics as well.

Herbert Salber and the other co-chairs of Geneva International talks arrived in Georgia’s Russian-backed South Ossetia region on May 16 to discuss the details of the next round of the Geneva Talks, scheduled for June 20-21, 2017.

More about: #Georgia   #South-Ossetia  


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