“It is extremely important to us that Finland’s Foreign Minister, as representative of the OSCE Chairperson country, visit the occupation line and see the situation there for herself,” declared Georgia’s Foreign Minister, Maka Botchorishvili, at a joint press conference with the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Finnish Foreign Minister, Elina Valtonen.

According to Botchorishvili, this represents the best opportunity to gain an accurate understanding of the security challenges facing Georgia.

“At the same time, Finland is an EU member state which contributes to the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia. Finnish citizens are also represented within it. We are extremely grateful that this mission is present in Georgia. At present, it is the only international mechanism monitoring the situation on the ground. Naturally, the EU Monitoring Mission has the opportunity to provide accompaniment and, as an observer organisation, to furnish certain information regarding what is happening along Georgia’s occupation line.

Today, we had the opportunity to discuss this issue at length, examining in detail our perspective on the Russia-Georgia conflict, the prospects for its resolution, the consequences of occupation, and its impact on our population. The Minister will have the opportunity to see this at the occupation line tomorrow,” noted Botchorishvili.