Donald Tusk treats setting border signs by South Ossetia as provocation

The European Council treats the actions of the South-Ossetian party of installing border signs on the border with Georgia as an attempt to destabilize the situation in the region, Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council (EC), said at a press conference in Tbilisi. The EC does not recognize the independence of South Ossetia, he said.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 11 the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) accused Russian border guards and South-Ossetian authorities of capturing a part of the territory of Georgia and a part of the pipeline Baku-Supsa. The border marks were installed in the territory of South Ossetia, near the villages of Tsinagar and Orchosan, 50 meters off the border, the South-Ossetian party asserts.

On July 20, after his meeting with the president of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili, Donald Tusk attended a press conference in Tbilisi, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

"The establishment of demarcation signs and fixing border lines are the steps in the wrong direction and a clear provocation that does not contribute to stabilizing the situation and resolution of the conflict. We support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its borders recognized by the international community. The two breakaway regions are integral parts of Georgia. We do not recognize the so-called agreements signed with Russia – they have no legal status," said Tusk.

On July 14, on the eve of the arrival of Donald Tusk, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of South Ossetia issued a statement, accusing Georgian authorities of provocations. The MFA has emphasized that all the works to fix the Georgian-South-Ossetian border are conducted without any violations of the sovereignty of the Georgian party.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.