Global General

Russia slams Clinton statement on Georgia "occupation"

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-07 21:16

MOSCOW - The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday slammed a recent statement of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton referring to Moscow's "occupation" of Georgia as "absolutely baseless."

"Secretary of State Clinton used the term 'occupation' in this context without any reason," the ministry said in a statement.

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The ministry pointed out that no Russian servicemen were currently deployed in Georgia, but rather some "military contingents" are in Georgia's two breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Those two regions "seceded from Georgia as a result of the aggression, unleashed by the (Georgian President Mikhail) Saakashvili regime," the statement said. "We expect that our partners will take account of this objective reality."

When paying a one-day visit to Tbilisi, the last leg of her blitz tour to five nations in Eastern Europe and Transcaucasia, Clinton said at a press conference with Saakashvili that "the United States is steadfast in its commitment to Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

"We continue to call for Russia to abide by the August 2008 ceasefire commitment... including by ending the occupation and withdrawing Russian troops from South Ossetia and Abkhazia to their pre-conflict positions," she said.

Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war in August 2008, when Georgia attacked South Ossetia, a Georgian rebel republic, to retake the renegade region that borders Russia. In response, Moscow sent in troops to drive Georgian forces out of the region.

Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states on August 26, 2008, two weeks after the conflict ended.

Georgia and the West have condemned Russia's plans for a military presence in Abkhazia, which they consider sovereign Georgian land.