Georgia seeking to ‘restore territorial integrity'

ANKARA/TBILISI

Georgia has been making efforts to restore territorial integrity of the country, said Georgia’s ambassador to Turkey on the 10th anniversary of the Russia-Georgia war.

Tbilisi fought a five-day war with Russia in 2008 over Georgia’s breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Georgia lost its control of both areas and Russia later recognized both South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Irakli Koplatadze, termed the Russia's 2008 military intervention into Georgia as a “direct attack on Europe’s security and international order.”

Georgian government continued their efforts for reconciliation by carrying out a policy dialogue for restoring territorial integrity, Koplatadze said.

“We believe Georgia’s territorial integrity will be restored […] through efforts by the international community, including Turkey,” he said.

He also underlined the importance of having talks with NATO on the security of the Black Sea. “Georgia is actively having strategic talks with NATO over the Black Sea’s security and it is ready to further contribute to the NATO’s efforts in the region,” he added.

‘Unacceptable’

Foreign ministers from Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland, and Ukrainian deputy prime minister paid a visit to Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia on the 10th anniversary of the war.

The ministers, in a news conference, called Russia’s invasion on the Georgian soils “unacceptable.”

Foreign Minister of Lithuania Linas Linkevicius said: “20 percent of Georgia’s soils being occupied during the incident that occurred 10 years ago should not be accepted as normal.”

“Any illegitimate activity is unacceptable for us,” Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said.

“No country can forcibly change another country’s borders,” he added.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Pavlo Rozenko said: “All the responsibility [of the war] belongs to the Russian Federation. It [Russia] is a direct aggressor.”

A roundtable meeting on Russia-Georgia war is also scheduled to be held in Tbilisi on Tuesday with attendance of the same ministers.

The only UN member states to recognize the breakaway regions are Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Nauru.

Reporting by Tevfik Durul and Davit Kachkachishvili :Writing by Nilay Kar