16:19, 2 October 2013

NATO Secretary General urges Russia to abolish recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia

Barbed wire stretched by Russian border guards at Georgian-South Ossetian border. Georgia, July 2013. Photo by Edita Badasyan for the ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), has again urged Russia to reconsider its decision to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

"The NATO's position is extremely clear. As stated at the summit in Chicago (May 2012), the NATO supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders," said Rasmussen.

He noted that he is concerned about Russia's activeness in "building fences and other barriers on the administrative demarcation lines inside Georgia," the ITAR-TASS reports.

Mr Rasmussen believes that it is not conducive to the peaceful resolution of the conflict and fails to meet the obligations taken by the official Moscow, RIA "Novosti" has added.

"These actions have negative influence on the situation in the region and lives of Georgian citizens on both sides of the border," said Rasmussen. "I call to remove these barriers."