Georgian Foreign Ministry has condemned placement of new signposts marking breakaway South Ossetia’s “state border” and said that the move left farmlands of several local residents beyond the new markers.
The new signposts, it said, were placed by the Russian occupation forces close to the villages of Tamarasheni and Tseronisi in the Kareli municipality, which are located in southwest from Tskhinvali. Some locals told journalists that about 6-7 hectares of farmland fell beyond the new signpost.
“The Georgian Foreign Ministry condemns Moscow’s yet another provocative act, which poses threat to security and stability and grossly violates local residents’ fundamental rights,” it said. “Georgia call on the Russian Federation once again to fulfill its international commitments and to refrain from actions directed towards escalation of situation.”
“The Foreign Ministry calls on the international community to assess appropriately Russia’s illegal policy directed against Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and to take adequate measures for maintaining security and stability on the ground.”
- Defense Minister: ‘Russia Tests Our Patience’
- Tbilisi Condemns S.Ossetia ‘Border’ Marking – July, 2015
- EU’s Tusk Hails Tbilisi’s ‘Responsible Reaction’ to Russia’s ‘Provocations’
Defense Minister, Tina Khidasheli, said on August 11 that Georgia should not yield to these provocations by Russia, which, she said, would continue. Khidasheli said that she expects more such signposts to be placed by Russia at various locations along the breakaway region’s boundary line as Georgia continues its Euro-Atlantic integration. “I can name six or seven other locations where Russia will continue these actions – presumably because of JTEC, because of our NATO integration and because of many other reasons,” she said, using an abbreviation for planned NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Center, which is expected to be opened this year.
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