Brussels, 22/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - During his visit to Georgia on Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 July, European Council President Donald Tusk criticised the new demarcation signs on the administrative border between Georgia and South Ossetia.
“The recent installation of new demarcation signposts is a clear provocation and does not contribute to building trust and advancing ongoing efforts to stabilise the situation”, Tusk said at a press conference. Georgia accuses Russia of “rampant annexation” after observing, on 11 and 12 July, the installation of the border signs 1.5 km inside Georgian territory.
Tusk then hailed the “positive” response of the Georgian government. “It's important not only for you and Georgia, but also for the whole region and for the whole Europe to manage this problem with high responsibility and cold blood. I'm afraid that the only thing that the authors of this provocation needs is the over-reacting, and it is crucially important for us to stay tough”, he said.
According to Tusk, the EU monitoring mission has played a very important role in maintaining calm. “The EU will continue to meet its commitments on this”, he said. During Tusk's visit to Georgia, he also met the EU monitoring mission.
Underlining that the EU would continue to support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia, Tusk stated that he wanted “to lower tensions, engage in dialogue and advance diplomatic efforts towards a solution” - but he did not give any further detail. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)