On the UN Security Council Session

On 19 August 2008, in New York, on the initiative of the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations, an emergency session of the UN Security Council was held to deal with the tense situation in the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia and other parts of Georgia.

Permanent Representative of Georgia to UN Irakli Alasania addressed the Security Council session acquainting its members in detail with the existing situation in Georgia. He asserted that the Russian Federation is carrying out a massive military intervention in Georgia and urged the Council members for action.

Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe and Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Edmond Mulet expressed their deep concern over the situation in Georgia and called on the Russian Federation for immediate compliance with the commitments undertaken on the basis of the ceasefire agreement.

Representatives of the United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Belgium and Costa Rica also registered unanimously their support for the principles of Georgia’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of borders and urged Russia for adherence to the commitments under the ceasefire agreement and immediate withdrawal of its troops from the territory of Georgia.

The Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations developed a draft resolution of the UN Security Council, which should provide legal guarantees for the fulfillment of the peace agreement reached between Georgia and Russia.

Despite the commitment undertaken by the Russian Federation at the highest level to fulfill this agreement, Russia’s Permanent Representative to UN V. Churkin insisted on removal of the key points of this agreement from the draft resolution, which made it impossible to adopt the document.

The international community should no longer be surprised at the fact that the Russian Federation, which in the 21st century occupied the territory of Georgia thus lifting the veil from the hitherto disguised priorities of its own foreign policy, does all in its power to prevent the UN Security Council from adopting a resolution that could make Russia give up on its designs.