2018-08-07
Mr. President,
Mr. Chairman of the Parliament,
Members of Government and Parliament of Georgia,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me first of all greet our distinguished guests:
Mr. Jacek Krzysztof Czaputowicz, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland,
Mr. Pavlo Rozenko, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine,
Mr. Linas Linkevičius, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lietuva,
Mr. Edgars Rinkēvičs, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia,
Friends of our country, who have demonstrated their solidarity and support towards our country by their presence in Tbilisi today. I wish to express my gratitude to their governments and people for the solid support demonstrated throughout 10 years since the war in August 2008.
I also greet and welcome the diplomatic corps accredited in Georgia, who have been unshakably supporting our country and standing by us in the process when we cope with this most demanding challenge.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends,
Today is one of the most tragic days in the recent history of Georgia. It is filled with pain and injustice. It is not only the day of ten years past. These challenges are still open wounds for us and serve as a main bottleneck awaiting the peaceful resolution of the barrier.
Georgian people once again experienced open military aggression exactly 10 years ago. Wide-scale military intervention of Russia manifested on August 7, 2008 followed with an aviation attack over every single region of Georgia turned into a full scale military action.
It was a war, which was followed with an occupation of two integral regions of Georgia, which resulted in yet another wave of ethnic cleansing and thousands of refugees and internally displaced people. Aggression led to the destruction of dozens of Georgian villages. Russian Federation succeeded in occupying 5 gorges and over 100 villages under the jurisdiction of Georgia. Human losses were devastating. August war sacrificed dozens of people, including the civilians.
Occupation of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali continues 10 years after, along with the unlawful actions towards their actual annexation. Irrespective of the peace-keeping efforts of Georgian and international community, the post-war phase has been filled with ten years of barbed wire, violence, forced fear among the peaceful local population, isolation, pressure, ethnic discrimination and unlawful arrests. Conflict-affected local population throughout this period exists in the most devastating conditions and often continues to live at the stake of existence.
Occupation and unlawful occurrences on the spot have unfortunately sacrificed the lives of peaceful population. Manslaughter of internally displaced people - Archil Tatunashvili, Giga Otkhozoria and David Basharuli by the occupation regime is yet another confirmation of the fact that we are still very far from the conflict resolution.
All the aforesaid is augmented by the fact that hundreds of internally displaced people have been trying to return to their original places of habitat for over 25 years now. Generations of refugees are raised and they do not lose hope of return and peaceful co-existence with Abkhazians and Ossetians.
Hardship and challenges of past years have clearly demonstrated that situation nowadays is by no means ideal. Alas, this is the condition Abkhazians, Ossetians and Georgians strive to. That is exactly why, each of us - Abkhazians, Ossetians and Georgian should find power and kind will to overcome this external provocation and reach peace based on mutual interests.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I wish to stress today that Georgia succeeded to prove on the background of routine provocations over these 10 years that it is a European, democratic state and has the power to achieve success irrespective of its 20% of land in occupation. We are the state that has managed to have an irrevocable progress on this demanding road, which is labeled as a democratic transformation of the country, sustainable economic development, political association and economic integration with EU, visa-free travel within the Schengen zone and irrevocable advancement towards the Euro-Atlantic space. Our country, as a dignified and responsible member of the international community successfully continues to make its considerable contribution to the international security.
Government of Georgia will do its best to achieve a peaceful resolution of the conflicts and sustainable development. Our country is solidly standing on a peaceful path, which is aimed towards de-occupation of Georgian territories, return of refugees, reconciliation of people currently divided by war and occupation line, restoration of human interaction and trust between people.
Plenty of peace-keeping measures implemented by Georgia in recent years evidence that country has solidly decided to resolve the conflict in a peaceful manner. Nevertheless, it is nowadays important to once again clearly stress that only peace and peaceful resolution of the conflict is within the interests of Georgia.
It is also within the interests of Georgia to streamline relations with the Russian Federation on the grounds of international law, respect towards sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country.
It is within the interests of the Georgian people, that regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali get sustainable and peaceful development and advancement. Indeed, Georgia is interested to jointly create conditions of better life and development in these regions, as sustainable and long-term peace is achieved only through development and inclusive peaceful process.
Our efforts have resulted in raising the profile of Russian-Georgian conflict to a very high level in the agenda of the international community. Latter is consolidated in support towards Georgia and calls on Russian Federation to comply with assumed international commitments to thereby change the unlawful decision on recognition and to de-occupy the Georgian territories.
We invest huge efforts in peace-keeping formats - International Negotiations of Geneva and Incident Prevention and Response Mechanisms. We manage to avoid escalation of the conflict in the conditions of most demining challenges and provocations. With our active measures - with difficulties, but still - we manage to seek gradual resolution of the problem and needs of the conflict-affected population.
Russian Federation assumed commitment towards the international community 10 years ago to keep away from using force and to return the Russian troops to the pre-war position. If the Government of Russia conceptualizes on the long-term interests of the Russian people and state towards peace and stability in the neighborhood and if it wants to have kind relations and cooperation with neighbors based on mutual respect towards Georgia, it should make tangible steps towards honoring the international obligations. Russian Federation should comply with Cease Fire Agreement dating back to August 12, 2008 and retrieve its armed forces from the territory of Georgia. Russian Federation should stop building barbed wire and artificial barriers along the occupation line and keep away from jeopardizing the establishment of international security mechanisms on the spot.
Today, after so many years, when people in Tbilisi, Sokhumi, Tskhinvali and other cities have somewhat lost hopes of peaceful resolution of the conflict, I wish to say out loud - let us be self-critical and conceptualize the past dramatic period. This is the only right approach towards finding a common language in future. I am confident that one fine day we will by all means succeed in addressing all the pressing challenges together with Abkhazians and Ossetians to ultimately co-exist peacefully as there is no other alternative. Common interests, shared past, values and history give me all the grounds to believe in this.
Our response to the barbed wire, artificial barriers, separated families and so called customs check points is the brave peace initiatives. Most important step in this context is the new peace initiative of the Government of Georgia Step Towards Better Future, which aims to improve the humanitarian and socio-economic condition of conflict-affected people and restoration of interaction between people. These are the proposals that are grounded on the interests of our citizens, who currently live on the occupied territories.
And lastly, today as never before strong and consolidated position of the international community is of paramount importance to send a clear message to the Russian Federation that world will never tolerate the attempted external alteration of sovereign borders of any single country. We strongly believe that Georgia will succeed in ensuring sustainable peace, de-occupation of the country and reconciliation of the war-torn society by mobilizing international community and by pursuing consistent efforts.
Our response to this challenge and occupation of the country is peace, sustainable development of the country, establishment of strong public institutions, economic development and advancement, irrevocable integration of our country with European and Euro-Atlantic structures. This response is peaceful offer with no other alternative towards our Abkhazian and Ossetian citizens to build a strong and European Georgia together.
Thank you very much for your attention!