We appeal to the international community to take effective measures to stop the illegal actions of the occupation forces,- Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vladimir Konstantinidi said. He noted that frequent provocations and incidents at the occupation line further worsen the security environment and the existing grave humanitarian situation in the conflict-affected villages.

We call on the Russian Federation to immediately stop illegal activities at the occupation line, to respect its international obligations and to begin unconditional implementation of the August 12, 2008 ceasefire agreement, as the withdrawal of troops from the Georgian territory is the only way to establish sustainable peace and security on the ground – Konstantinidi said.

According to the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, the Georgian side has activated a hotline and informed co-chairs of the Geneva international discussions. He also noted that the EU Monitoring Mission had been involved in the process.

On August 17, seven Georgian citizens have been detained near the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region for “illegally crossing the border”.

All of them are the locals of the village of Akhalubani, Gori Municipality. They were reportedly visiting a church, which is located near the occupation line.