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.
Russian aggression must end
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.
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.
Quote
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”.
