Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

Development of a border agreement between Russia and the breakaway Tskhinvali region is a violation of international law, Georgia's First Deputy Foreign Minister Davit Zalkaliani said on September 13.

"The document, which violates international norms, will be considered invalid," Zalkaliani said.

According to Zalkaliani, the Georgian Foreign Ministry has sent a protest note to the Russian Federation through the Swiss Embassy due to the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the Foreign Ministry to sign an agreement on the state border with the breakaway republic of South Ossetia. The agreement will define the line of the state border between Russia and the Republic of South Ossetia, which runs along the tops of the Greater Caucasus mountain range.

Moreover, Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze raised the issue of creating barbwire and trenches along the border with Abkhazia and Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia in a meeting with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres in Geneva.

Panjikidze left for an official visit to Geneva on September 11 to participate in the 24th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

Earlier, Georgia has appealed to the European Union to assess the actions of Russia on creating the so-called 'administrative border'. In turn, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule promised that the actions in the territories of the breakaway regions will be discussed during a meeting of the EU-Russia commission.

Georgia and Russia, its giant northern neighbor, have maintained no diplomatic relations since a brief war in 2008. Tbilisi broke off relations with Moscow in August 2008 when Moscow crushed a Georgian assault to reassert control over two rebel regions -- South Ossetia and Abkhazia -- and later recognized the regions. Georgia announced the two unrecognized republics as occupied territories in September 2008.

Russian border guard officers have begun establishing barbwire along the de-facto border shortly after the conflict. The Georgian side claims that these actions violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia, as well as the principles of international law and the ceasefire agreement between Georgia and Russia dated August 12, 2008.