Georgia’s Prime Minister, Grigol Mgaloblishvili, called on the European Union on November 10 not to return “to business as usual with Russia” and warned it could only “encourage the Russian Federation to continue its aggressive actions against Georgia and Europe’s eastern neighborhood.”

PM Mgaloblishvili released a statement amid EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, which is discussing resumption of partnership talks with Russia.  

“Today, the European Union will seek to answer a critical question: Has Russia met its commitments under the Sarkozy brokered ceasefire agreement? Beneath this question lies an even more profound one: Will the relationship between the EU and Russia be founded on principle or on convenience?” the Georgian Prime Minister said. “There can be no doubt that today Russia is in direct violation of the Sarkozy-brokered, EU ceasefire agreement. Georgia today remains a nation forcibly occupied by a foreign force.”

“Specifically, full implementation of the ceasefire agreement requires that Russia: withdraw its forces from Akhalgori and the Kodori Valley… reverse its sharp military buildup in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, where now more than 10.000 troops (nearly triple the size than prior to August 7) are building illegal military bases; grant unfettered access into Georgia’s occupied regions to international observers...; provide security guarantees for ethnic Georgians in the occupied territories; participate in good faith in the Geneva talks,” the Prime Minister’s statement reads.

He also said that Russia should agree to fully cooperate with an international, independent investigation into the origins and conduct of the August war “that Georgia first proposed on August 16.”