Friday, October 25 2013

 

Tbilisi. The Council of Europe must impose sanctions against
Georgia for refusal to allow two Russian observers to monitor the presidential
elections, deputy head of the Committee on International Affairs of the State
Duma Alexei Pushkov stated.

"By frustrating Russian observers'
participation in the PACE official mission, Georgia violates its commitments to
the Council of Europe that must be followed by sanctions", Pushkov told
journalists on Wednesday.

He noted that on the eve of the visit of a
group of PACE observers to Georgia to monitor the elections, the Georgian side
confirmed its refusal to allow members of the Russian delegation in PACE Vasili
Likhachev and Sergei Kalashnikov to monitor the elections as observers, RIA
Novosti reported.

Earlier, the Georgian side announced that
Likhachev's visit was undesirable because he had visited Abkhazia in 2009,
which according to the Georgian legislation, had a status of the occupied
territory.

Pushkov explained that under the Georgian
legislation, individuals, entering the territory of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
from the Russian side, might be arrested or fined in Georgia.

"The Russian delegation in PACE notes
that neither Vasili Likhachev nor Sergei Kalashnikov refuse to participate in
the PACE observation mission and are ready enter Georgia as members of its
delegation.  But in conditions of
threats, event possible arrest by the Georgian side, such visit is
impossible", Pushkov noted.

According to him, such position of Georgia
contradicts to its commitments to the Council of Europe.

"In the framework of these
commitments,  Georgia must allow
representatives of all countries-members of the Council of Europe,
independently on relations with them, to enter its territory in case
representatives of these countries are members of PACE official observation
missions", Pushkov noted.

He noted that at the sitting of the PACE
Bureau on September 30, the Georgian side was stated about that circumstance,
"but judging from the Georgian side's reaction, Tbilisi's position
regarding this issue has not changed".