08:16, 12 July 2018

NATO calls on Russia to withdraw troops from Abkhazia and South Ossetia

NATO's summit in Brussels. July 11, 2018. Photo by the NATO's press service https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_156840.htm

The leaders of 29 countries-members of the North-Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have confirmed their support for the territorial integrity of Georgia. They called on Russia to withdraw troops from the territory of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and reject the earlier recognition of their sovereignty.

"We reaffirm our support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova within their internationally recognized borders ... We urge Russia to withdraw its troops, deployed in all the three countries without their consent," reads the declaration adopted at the NATO summit in Brussels.

Russia should stop building border barriers where Abkhazia and South Ossetia border on the territories controlled by the Georgian authorities, and stop militarizing these regions, the document further states.

Georgia treats South Ossetia and Abkhazia as the territories occupied by Russia.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 31-August 1, 2017, the US Vice President Mike Pence visited Georgia and emphasized the unchanged US policy regarding support for Georgia's sovereignty and its territorial integrity. Georgian politicians and political analysts have considered this visit as evidence of the advent of Georgian-American relations to a new level.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 11, 2018 at 11:52 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.