The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday that on April 30, 2025, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe issued its twelfth decision under the agenda “Council of Europe and the Conflict in Georgia.”

According to the Ministry, the Council of Europe and its 46 member countries “reaffirm their strong support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.”

“The decision states that the Russian Federation is violating international obligations, notably the European Union-mediated ceasefire deal of August 12, 2008, and that it continues to maintain an unlawful military presence in Georgia’s Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions. The Committee of Ministers reaffirms support for the Council of Europe’s Reykjavik Summit Declaration 2023, urging Russia to comply with international obligations and withdraw its forces from Georgian territory.

Member countries of the Council of Europe welcome the European Court of Human Rights’ decisions, which established the Russian Federation’s responsibility for gross violations of human rights during the occupation of Georgia’s Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions, as well as confirmed the Russian Federation’s effective control over occupied Abkhazia prior to the Russia-Georgia war in August 2008.

The document also welcomes the latest decision of the Strasbourg Court of December 17, 2024, in which the Court once again recognised Russia’s responsibility for human rights breaches, including property rights. The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers urges the Russian Federation to implement the European Court of Human Rights’ decisions and to allow the Council of Europe’s human rights protection and monitoring bodies immediate, unrestricted access to territories beyond the control of the Georgian government.

It is worth noting that the Committee of Ministers’ resolution has been approved since 2014. This clearly emphasises the priority of the issue of the Russian Federation’s occupation of Georgian regions on the organization’s political agenda. It is a key legal and political document that reflects the clear position of the 46 member nations of the Council of Europe,” the Ministry added.