Tbilisi, 10 June 2021 - The President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, visited today parts of the South Ossetian Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) with the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM).
EUMM Head of Mission, Ambassador Marek Szczygieł, who joined President Nausėda throughout his visit, briefed him on the latest security and humanitarian developments on the ground and offered his insights on the geographic specificities of the Khurvaleti area.
In the divided village of Didi Khurvaleti, he further explained how ongoing ‘borderisation’ activities and features, such as the installation of new wire fences and watchtowers, negatively affect the daily life and human rights of conflict-affected population. In particular, the exchanges between the President and the Mission focused on the restrictions that ‘borderisation’ causes to the freedom of movement of the local population, including in terms of access to education, health services, land and property.
The discussions also highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the humanitarian situation on the ground and amplified the challenges faced by conflict-affected communities in their daily lives.
Against that background, the Lithuanian President warmly praised EUMM for its contribution to stability and confidence building work in Georgia. He also expressed his gratitude for the informative field visit.
The last high-level Lithuanian visit to the ABL took place on 29 April 2021, when the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Gabrielius Landsbergis, visited the Odzisi area, including the Odzisi controlled crossing point.
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