On December 8, during the 24th meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council, the Group of Friends of Georgia issued a statement on the conflict in Georgia. The statement was delivered on behalf of Canada, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The Friends of Georgia are also concerned about the Russian military build-up in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, and “condemn the gross violations of rights related to freedom of movement, residence, property, as well as right to education in one’s native language and underline that the so called borderization ... further aggravates the humanitarian situation on the ground.”
One day before the statement was issued, following the Friends of Georgia meeting on the sidelines of the Ministerial Council, U.S. State Secretary Rex Tillerson said “the U.S. strongly supports Georgia’s membership in NATO and we look forward to completing all the steps for that to happen,” while the U.K. Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Alan Duncan stressed the British support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. |
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