Paet calls South Ossetia elections ‘illegal’

  • 2014-06-10
  • From wire reports, TALLINN

Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said that the Sunday parliamentary elections in Georgia's occupied regions of South Ossetia were illegal and contradicted the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia, reports Postimees Online.

"Declaring these elections legal would mean approving the 2008 ethnic cleansing and legitimizing [Russia’s] military occupation. This is not acceptable," said Paet.

He said that in order to guarantee the region's security and stability, it is important to continue the Geneva international negotiations and guarantee the European Union observer mission access to the entire territory of Georgia, including South Ossetia.

"We call on Russia to fulfill all of the commitments taken with the 2008 ceasefire, including the removal of its troops to pre-conflict positions and free access for humanitarian aid in that territory," said the foreign minister.