Interfax
June 5, 2013
Moscow says NATO secretary general’s statement on South Ossetian-Georgian border politically motivated
BRUSSELS: Moscow says that the statement of NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen regarding the situation at the South Ossetian-Georgian border was politically motivated.
“I think that this statement was rushed and politically motivated. It is regrettable that NATO again got into a propaganda trap set by those Georgian forces which can not come to terms with the new reality in the region after August 2008,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Interfax in Wednesday.
Rasmussen said earlier on Wednesday that he criticized placement of wire fences in South Ossetia at the border with Georgia. “Building such fences is a violation of international law and of the 2008 agreements,” Rasmussen told reporters. “It is simply not acceptable and we urge Russia to live up to her international obligations.”
“The alliance is well aware that Russia is fulfilling its international obligations meticulously and acts in complete accord with the Russian-South Ossetian agreement on guarding the border jointly,” Grushko said.
Grushko said that Brussels was also aware that fences were being built only at a number of potentially dangerous areas, not along the entire border. “It is done to prevent unsanctioned border violations by locals and to decrease the number of detentions and in some cases arrests among other things,” the official said.
Grushko said that South Ossetia had repeatedly raised the issue of the border and the necessity of its demarcation within the existing negotiating mechanisms, firstly within the Incident Prevention and Reaction Mechanism working at the South Ossetian-Georgian border as well as within the Geneva talks.
“Finally, it would have been possible to ask how pressing issues of the border regime have been resolved previously, including those related to the attempts of Georgian border guards “to improve” the border line,” Grushko said.
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Georgian Ministry of Defence
June 4, 2013
NATO-Georgia Commission Session
The second day of the NATO Defence Ministerial started with the session of NATO-Georgia Commission. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen delivered an opening speech:
“I am pleased to welcome you to the meeting of Georgia-NATO Commission. Georgia is a special partner for NATO and nation which wishes to become a member of Alliance. Its commitment to NATO-led operation in Afghanistan is significant. Georgia is indeed the number one non-NATO troop contributor to ISAF. We greatly appreciate the act of support of Georgia for our operations both in the past and currently. We highly value the professionalism and the courage of Georgia’s Armed Forces and we salute the sacrifices that it made. Given the very demanding reforms that Georgia is currently carrying out in defence sector, these efforts are all more impressive. NATO cooperates with Georgia in implementing its reforms and allies stand ready to continue to share their experiences and to provide their support.
We also continue to follow with great interest the challenges and developments that Georgia is experiencing within its borders…And we reiterate our unwavering support for Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty within internationally recognized borders.
A stable and democratic Georgia has its place within the Euro-Atlantic Community. And I look forward to a future when Georgia will be the part of the Alliance. The decisions taken at the NATO Summit in Bucharest remain valid. Georgia will become a member of NATO as soon as it fulfills the membership criteria”.
Following the NATO Secretary General`s speech, Minister of Defence of Georgia Irakli Alasania addressed the ministers of defence. He focused attention to the reforms ongoing in Georgia and in the field of defence of the country, as well as on Georgia`s involvement in the ISAF mission. As Minister outlined, by contribution to the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, Georgia reaffirms that it is not only a consumer of security but is actively engaged in establishing peace worldwide.
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