European diplomats on November 7 condemned the killing of a Georgian man near the administrative boundary with Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia by Russian troops while they were trying to detain him, renewing calls for Moscow to withdraw its "illegal" presence" in the area.
The Georgian State Security Service (SUS) said the incident occurred on November 6 when Russian troops shot to death a 58-year-old man as he and several other villagers went to pray in a church near the village of Kirbali that Russian soldiers had barred Georgians from accessing earlier this year. Another Georgian man was detained.
"The EU strongly condemns the killing of a Georgian citizen and the detention of another one by the Russian border guards in Kirbali. We call for an immediate release," EU foreign policy Josep Borrell said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"Russian military presence in the Georgian occupied breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is illegal," he added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on November 7 that he had no information on the incident.
Such incidents are known to regularly take place in the area.
In August 2008, Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Georgia's other breakaway region, Abkhazia, following a five-day Russian-Georgian war. Abkhazia declared independence from Georgia in 1992, a move which led to all-out war with Tbilisi.
The West has called the move effectively an annexation of the two regions by Russia. Only Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria have recognized Abkhazia as independent.
"Russia must end its continued illegal presence on Georgian soil and release all those in detention," said Mark Clayton, the ambassador to Georgia for the United Kingdom.
Tensions between Moscow and Tbilisi were heightened last month amid reports that Russia plans to establish a naval base in Abkhazia. Georgia says such a move would be a "blatant violation" of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.