Question Period Note: Georgian territory of South Ossetia to join Russia

The president of the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia said on Wednesday that the territory would take steps in the near future to become part of Russia.

• Canada strongly supports Georgia's territorial integrity and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
• Canada and other like-minded OSCE participating States are deeply concerned about the proposed referendum and illegitimate steps to integrate Abkhazia and South Ossetia into Russia's socio-economic sphere.
• We see these as attempts by the Russian Federation and Russian-supported actors to legitimize past aggression on Georgian territories.
• Canada has strongly urged Russia to fulfill its obligations under its EU-mediated August 2008 ceasefire agreement with Georgia, and withdraw its forces to their positions prior to the outbreak of hostilities.

Canada with other members of the OSCE Group of Friends of Georgia delivered attached statement on March 18 about the proposed so-called "parliamentary elections" in Abkhazia on March 12 and "presidential elections" in South Ossetia on April 12.

Georgia published the statement online and we retweeted via VOSCE and amplified on CanadaFP.

Statement - Group of Friends of Georgia

Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America do not recognize the legitimacy of the so-called "parliamentary election" held in Georgia's Abkhazia region on March 12, 2022. The same is true for the so-called "presidential election" scheduled to be held in Georgia's South Ossetia region on April 10, 2022.

We reiterate our full support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders, and remain deeply concerned over the continued occupation of parts of the territory of Georgia by the Russian Federation as well as by steps to integrate Abkhazia and South Ossetia into the Russia's socio-economic sphere.

We once again urge Russia to fulfill its obligation under the EU-mediated 12 August 2008 ceasefire agreement, and to withdraw its forces to their positions prior to the outbreak of hostilities, as well as to provide free access for humanitarian assistance to these regions. We also call on Russia to reverse its recognition of the so- called independence of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

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