Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili has condemned Russia’s military exercises in Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, with his office saying “it is unacceptable to carry out military maneuvers on occupied Georgian territory.”
Margvelashvili’s adviser on foreign affairs, Tengiz Pkhalaze, said on August 19 that the Georgian president plans to call on the international community to evaluate the fact that Russia has carried out military exercises on the territory of the Georgian state and to react accordingly.
Russian troops have remained in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, backing the self-proclaimed governments there, since the Russian-Georgian war in August 2008.
Russia is among a handful of countries that have recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Both of the breakaway regions rely heavily on military and financial aid from Russia, which does not allow European Union monitors to access either region.