The European Union will henceforth call the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali “occupied” instead of “separatist” regions, as it was before.
The corresponding decision to change the terminology in naming the territories of Georgia in the EU was made during a meeting of the permanent representatives of the countries of the European Union back in May, writes Netgazeti, which received a response from the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU.
Occupied territories of Georgia
The document states that the EU authorities supported the proposal of the European External Action Service regarding the wording of the “occupied self-proclaimed regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia”, when communication with the Georgian public and authorities takes place .
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In the past, the European Union used the term breakaway to refer to Abkhazia and Tskhinvali. In meaning, such a formulation was close to “separatist” regions. Similar names for the occupied regions of Georgia were from time to time the subject of criticism from official Tbilisi.
As Netgazeti notes, after the official decision to change the terminology, the first statement with the appropriate wording was made on June 9, when the parliamentary “elections” EU High Representative Peter Stano commented on the occupied region.
It is noted that the document was finally adopted at meetings of the EU Council on May 13-14.
Russian-Georgian war
The Russian invasion of Georgia took place in early August 2008.
Already at the end of August, official Moscow recognized “independence” Abkhazia and “South Ossetia”, and subsequently the Russian Federation began to support the separatists and provide citizenship to residents of the region.
Part of Russian troops still remain in the occupied Georgian territories.
More about the August Russian-Georgian war of 2008 — read on Facts ICTV.
