NATO Lambasts Russian Fences in Breakaway Georgian Region

TBILISI, June 27 (RIA Novosti) NATO on Thursday once again harshly criticized Russias construction of barbed-wire fences along an ex-Georgian regions 350-kilometer border with that country.

Georgia lost control of a fifth of its territory in 2008 after fighting a five-day war with Russia over the breakaway region, South Ossetia. Russia subsequently granted independence to that region and the nearby province of Abkhazia, but reportedly gave the residents Russian passports.

Speaking in Georgias capital, Tbilisi, on Thursday, NATOs secretary general reiterated, nearly word-for-word, comments that he made early this month when the fences were reported.

Fence-building impedes freedom of movement. It can further inflame tensions. It is not acceptable and should be reversed, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at the opening of Georgias National Parliamentary Library.

He commended Georgia for being a strong supporter of shared security and having more troops in Afghanistan than any other of NATOs partner nations. He hailed the countrys progress on the path to Euro-Atlantic integration, including in NATO, adding that Georgias Euro-Atlantic integration will only be a matter of time.

2010 Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST)

Military conflict between Russia and Georgia in August 2008

Late last month, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said Russian border guards had installed barbed-wire fences along Georgias border with South Ossetia and had even pushed the border line inside Georgia.

Georgia maintains its claim to sovereignty over both Abkhazia and South Ossetia, whose Russia-proclaimed independence has been recognized by only a handful of other nations.

Rasmussen on Thursday urged Russia to maintain peace in the area, in keeping with an agreement signed in the wake of the August 2008 conflict. Such moves [building fences] are contrary to international law, and they are contrary to the ceasefire agreement, he said.

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NATO Lambasts Russian Fences in Breakaway Georgian Region