Tbilisi condemns Russia's action on moving border zone
By Jamila Babayeva
Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili has condemned Russia's decision to transfer the Russian border zone 11 kilometres into the territory of the separatist region of Abkhazia for a period from January 20 to March 21, 2014.
"We strongly protest against this decision and demand that the international community respond to it," he said.
The so-called Republic of Abkhazia recently adopted a resolution on change of the frontier zone in the Gagra district. The frontier zone has been established 11 km wide deep into the territory of Abkhazia from the frontier with the Russia.
He stressed that neither Georgia nor the international community will tolerate infringement of the territorial integrity of the country, the president's press service reported.
"We call on Russia to comply with international norms and ask the international community to respond to this blatant fact," Margvelashvili said.
He also stressed that Georgia has declared its readiness to assist in ensuring security at the Olympic Games in Sochi.
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.