Foreign Relations Committee Chair addresses OSCE PA

Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chairman of the Georgian Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee and Permanent Head of the Georgian parliamentary delegation in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, delivered a speech at the OSCE PA winter session.

In addressing the OSCE PA, Nikoloz Samkharadze focused on fundamental international law norms and territorial integrity principles amid global ongoing events.

“Recent events confirm how fragile the commitment of great powers to the basic norms of international law is. This is especially concerning for Georgia, two regions of which, Abkhazia and Tskhinvali, are occupied by Russia,” he said.

He accentuiated humanitarian situation in occupied regions, restriction of teaching in the Georgian language and modifying facades of Georgian churches, “thus erasing Georgian religious and cultural heritage traces across the lands, which are indivisible parts of Georgian statehood.”

Nikoloz Samkhardze said he was disappointed by the stance of some countries, which deemed themselves as friends of Georgia.

“To this day, many European states and the European Union itself refrain from officially calling Russia’s illegal presence in the occupied territories of Georgia an occupation. At the same time, they maintain close relations with those states and regimes that, at Moscow’s instruction, recognize the “independence” of the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions.

He reminded the session participants of the EU’s financial aid to Syria and Nauru, stressing financial support for those states, which undermined international law principles, was “a dangerous precedent,” and called on international partners to be committed to their declared principles and values.

Vienna, Austria, is hosting the 25th winter session of the OSCE PA. The Georgian delegation also comprises MP Eka Sepiashvili.