Official Portrait of the NATO Spokesman, Mr. James Appathurai
Photo: NATO Photo
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Russia's Right to Increase Peacekeepers
Official NATO press secretary James Appathurai expressed the organization's concern over the expansion of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Abkhazia yesterday after a meeting of Russian and NATO representatives. Appathurai acknowledged that Russia technically had the right to take that action but, stated, “In the political reality, this is not easing tensions, it is raising tensions.”
Appathurai stated that recent events in the region place Georgia's territorial integrity under threat. He also called on Russia and Georgia to temper their rhetoric. Georgian Foreign Minister has called Russia's actions “an attempt at the legalization of the annexation of two regions of Georgia,” while the Russian Foreign Ministry has accused Georgia of preparing a staging ground for a military operation against Abkhazia.
Meanwhile, the tenth EU-Georgian Parliament Cooperation Committee meeting has recently been concluded in Tbilisi. European Parliament member Marie Anne Isler Beguin stated that the Russian peacekeepers are incapable of effectively carrying out their mission.
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