Georgian Parliament official: many European countries still avoid using term “occupation” for Russia’s presence in Georgia

Nikoloz Samkharadze, the chair of the foreign relations committee of the Georgian Parliament, on Friday said that to this day many European countries, including the European Union, refrained from officially using the term “occupation” when describing Russia’s presence in Georgia’s occupied territories.

In his address at the winter meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Samkharadze criticised the European Union and its member states for still not using the term occupation when referring to the presence of Russian troops in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region.

“Dear colleagues, recent events have clearly demonstrated the weakness of major countries’ commitment to the fundamental principles of international law, such as territorial integrity. This is especially alarming for a small country like Georgia, whose regions - Abkhazia and Tskhinvali - are occupied by Russia, while hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Georgians remain traumatized, and this has continued for more than three decades”, he said.

“The situation on the ground is further aggravated by the so-called authorities of Russian-backed separatists, who prohibit Georgian children living in the occupied territories from receiving education in their native language. The occupying forces are engaged in systematic alterations and repainting of Georgian churches; they are deliberately erasing Georgian religious and cultural traces from land that has been an inseparable part of the Georgian state throughout history”, Samkharadze noted.

He further added that kidnappings, extortion, and even the killings of Georgian citizens living near the occupation line had become commonplace actions by Russian forces.

“In this context, the hesitation of some governments - which call themselves friends of Georgia - causes even greater disappointment. To this day, many European countries, including the European Union, refrain from officially using the term occupation when describing Russia’s presence in Georgia’s occupied territories”, Samkharadze concluded.