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News

26-01-2017

The US Ambassador to Georgia Visited Occupation line towards Abkhazian Direction

The US Ambassador to Georgia Mr. Ian Kelly alongside other representatives of the embassy visited occupation line in Orsantia and Khurcha villages, Zugdidi region.
The representatives of Information-analytical Department under State Security Service of Georgia got the delegation members familiarized with challenges and threats which come from occupied Abkhazia.
SSG representatives provided the ambassador with the information on possibility to close so-called BCPs along the occupation line. Attention was also payed to the fact that fundamental rights of local residents on the both sides of are limited and violated.
Talks were also held on Giga Otkhozoria murder that took place in May, 2016.
“We do not recognize that this is even any kind of line that should be controlled. We recognize Georgia within its internationally recognized borders. There should not be any kind of check points along here. There should be a free flow of people and goods because of a very simple fact that this is not any kind of controllable border.
Let me say that this is going to a fact that the wellbeing and livelihoods of thousands of people and some of these people of course are most vulnerable among the population on the other side of this river here. We are talking about school children who will not be able to cross here. We have to take something like fifty kilometers bus-ride round trip to 10 schools, we are talking about elderly people who want to cross here to get health care, we are talking about the family members here who want to attend meetings with their loved ones, attend weddings, funerals and this is a deeply disappointing decision that should be reversed. Regarding the leverage we may have, we have raised our concerns at the organizations for security in cooperation in Europe and I am publicly raising them here and of course we will raise them in Geneva International Discussions” - the US Ambassador Ian Kelly stated.