Timeline for 20th August, to 22:30

20 AUGUST

22:30 Russians reopen Gori check-points
• Russian troops reopen check-points in Gori that had been reportedly closed several hours before.

18:30 Russians drop fire-setting bombs 10 Km from Tbilisi
• In Kiketi, 10 km from Tbilisi, Russian military aircrafts drop fire-setting bombs, the forest in burning.

16:00 Russians occupy village in Chkhorotsku district, Samegrelo region, western Georgia
• Russians enter village Chogha of Chkhorotsku district, Samegrelo region, with armored vehicles and start digging the trenches.

15:30 Russians make checkpoint in the entrance of Poti.

14:00 Houses in Gori district burning
• Houses in village Dzevera in Gori district are burning. Besides, the Boshuri forest is also burning and the villages Bisi and Bobnevi are under danger.

13:00 Russian militaries try to prevent Matyas Eorsi from entering Gori
• Representative of the Council of Europe Matyas Eorsi is prevented by Russian militaries from entering Gori. After long dispute he entered the city, and was stopped again on his way back.

12:00 Governor of Shida Kartli arrested
• Representative of President-Governor of Shida Kartli Lado Vardzelashvili is arrested by Russian militaries at one of illegal Russian checkpoints as he was trying to release the trucks with humanitarian aid to the population of Gori district. He was released from detention after two hours.

Russian militaries do not allow the trucks with humanitarian aid to enter village Karaleti in Gori district.

11:00 Russian militaries occupy village in Sachkhere district, Imereti region, western Georgia
• Russian militaries occupy the village of Perevi, Sachkhere district, Imereti region. Over 50 Russian soldiers and three tanks are stationed there. It is reported that aggressors urge the population to get out of their houses and flee the village.

Vashadze received members of the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia

On 20 August 2008 Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Grigol Vashadze received members of the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia Sandra Kalniete and Karlis Sadurskis. The meeting was attended by Director of the European Affairs’ Department Kakha Sikharulidze and II Secretary of the same Department Eka Chokheli.

The guests once again reiterated the support of Latvia and the people of Latvia towards the territorial integrity of Georgia and emphasized that the aim of their visit is to support the Georgian people.

The sides respectively assessed the recent developments in Georgia and touched upon the possible ways out of the present situation.

The Latvian side stressed that the Latvian people maintain firm in supporting Georgia and its foreign policy goals and expressed its hope for the normalization of situation in the nearest future.

Vashadze met with EU Special Representative for South Caucasus

On 20 August 2008 Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Grigol Vashadze met with EU Special Representative for South Caucasus Peter Semneby.

The sides focused on the European Union’s role in resolving the issue of immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied territory of Georgia and expressed their support for the unwavering principle of the international community’s respect for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Georgian Deputy Minister emphasized that Russia’s foreign policy is based on aggression the key instruments of which are conduction of ethnic cleansing in the neighbouring countries and complete destruction of their national economies.

Mr. Vashadze provided the European side, upon the latter’s request, with detailed information on the demographic composition of the Tskhinvali region prior to and after the Russian-Georgian conflict.

MFA reply to News-Georgia Agency

Question: In his interview to Vremya Novostey, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grushko accused Georgia of gross violation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, the preamble of which reads that conscious of the need to prevent any military conflict, the state parties refrain from the use of force. How will you assess this statement?

Reply: It needs to be emphasized first of all that the Georgian side considers the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe as a cornerstone of the system of European security and strictly adheres to each of the Treaty-stipulated commitments.

As for Mr. Grushko’s comment, such absurd accusations take on a particularly cynical overtone when voiced by an official of the state, which has unleashed a large-scale military aggression against its neighbouring sovereign state, occupying a considerable part of its territory and conducting ethnic cleansing there.

It would be expedient for the Russian side to recall, while making similar statements, the so-called military operation Russia carried out in Chechnia, which entailed dire humanitarian consequences.

Furthermore, it is Russia’s non-fulfillment of its international commitments (Istanbul commitments) that has blocked the entry into force of the adapted CFE Treaty for so many years. Moreover, in December 2007 Russia violated the CFE Treaty by imposing a moratorium on its implementation thus putting the system of European security under serious threat.

NATO Foreign Ministerial Session

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia welcomes the statement adopted by the NATO Foreign Ministerial Session on the situation in Georgia.

A special reference should be made to the Alliance’s unqualified support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Of paramount importance to Georgia is NATO’s firm position on the urgency of unconditional implementation of the ceasefire agreement and immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Georgia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia expresses its gratitude to the Alliance member states for their readiness to render humanitarian and economic assistance to Georgia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia commends the Alliance’s decision to set up a NATO-Georgia Commission and expresses readiness to start, after reaching an agreement on respective modalities, active cooperation in this format in near future.

Georgia is determined to continue cooperation with the Alliance in the frames of Intensified Dialogue on Membership Issues and expresses hope that its relations with NATO will move to a qualitatively higher level of Membership Action Plan (MAP).

Georgian military servicemen taken hostage at the Poti seaport

On August 19, 2008, Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General A. Nogovitsyn stated that the Russian peacekeepers had apprehended and disarmed twenty heavily armed Georgian paramilitaries, who were driving Hummer type five military vehicles (HAMVEE).

The above statement is slanderous and does not adequately reflect the real state of affairs.

In accordance with the ceasefire agreement, Georgian troops are returning to the places of their previous deployment. In particular, on 19 August, at 01:00, a small Georgian unit including 20 servicemen equipped with light weaponry was deployed at a small-sized military base next to one of the private terminals of the Poti Port.

On August 19, at 08:30 am, a column of Russian heavy military vehicles once again invaded the Poti seaport, which is a private-owned facility, and the Russian military unit took hostage the Georgian soldiers deployed there.

During withdrawal from the facility, Russian soldiers took with them five Hummer type military vehicles, which belong to the Armed Forces of the United States and were prepared for transportation to the United States. The above vehicles were brought to Georgia back in July, as US side needed them for participation in the international training "Immediate Response-2008”.

When moving out from the seaport territory, the Russian militaries blindfolded and placed several Georgian military servicemen on the Russian military vehicles to use them as "live shields”.

Thus, the General Nogovitsyn’s statement, according to which the heavily armed Georgian paramilitaries were allegedly imprisoned on August 18, by the Russian military servicemen deployed at the Russian peacekeeping check-point, is absolutely false and misleading.

It should be stressed as well that the Poti seaport is located far beyond the area envisaged in the ceasefire agreement brokered by the President of France; as a matter of fact, the above facility is situated approximately 30 kilometers away from the administrative border of Abkhazian region and 160 kilometers away from the administrative border of so-called South Ossetia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia strongly demands the Russian side to immediately release the illegally imprisoned Georgian military servicemen.

More military monitoring officers

On 19 August 2008 the Permanent Council of the OSCE adopted the decision on increasing the number of Military Monitoring Officers in the OSCE Mission to Georgia by up to one hundred. The OSCE Member States have decided that 20 MMOs will be deployed immediately in the areas adjacent to South Ossetia. As regards to the rest of the additional MMOs, the modalities for their deployment are to be proposed by the OSCE Chairmanship, Finland without delay.

By deployment of additional OSCE Military Monitoring Officers in Georgia, the international mechanism is starting to operate, as stipulated by the cease-fire accord signed by the Georgian and Russian sides under the mediation of the President of France. According to paragraph 5 of the accord, "while awaiting an international mechanism, the Russian forces will implement additional security measures” in the conflict zone.

Furthermore, the deployment of the OSCE Military Monitoring Officers in Georgia implies that the Russian Federation, first of all, must withdraw unconditionally and without delay all its military forces from Georgia, and in parallel to this, immediately stop implementing aforementioned "additional security measures” carried out by so called peacekeepers.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia would like to underline the active input and leading role of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, without which it would be impossible to reach consensus on such decision. The Georgian side expresses its hope that the Russian Federation will comply with its obligations in good faith and abstain from impeding further decisions, essential for meeting all obligations under the cease-fire accord.