The European Union is concerned about the violent attacks on villages in the Upper Kodori Valley in Abkhazia, Georgia, which took place during the night of 11 to 12 March.
The EU condemns these acts of violence which risk escalating the already tense situation in the region and calls upon the parties to exercise restraint. The EU welcomes the investigation carried out by a UN-led Joint Fact Finding Group – in which all parties involved take part – and hopes that the perpetrators of the attacks will be identified. The EU reserves the right to come back to this issue in light of the results of the investigation.
The EU reiterates its call in the Permanent Council on 8 March upon the parties concerned to immediately resume negotiations in order to reach a peaceful solution to the conflict.
The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia, EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this statement.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
