Actions taken by the authorities of the Russian Federation against Georgia which are incompatible with membership of the Council of Europe

Doc. 9756

1 April 2003

Actions taken by the authorities of the Russian Federation against Georgia which are incompatible with membership of the Council of Europe

Written Question No. 401

Reply from the Committee of Ministers

adopted at the 833^rd meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (26 March 2003)

I. Written Question No. 401 by Mr Adamia (Doc. 9268)

Noting that, on the false ground of fighting terrorism, Russia has introduced visa requirements with Georgia, which in a discriminatory way exempts the secessionist territories of Georgia, and facilitates the movement of Boeviks from Russian territory to the territory of Georgia that is not controlled by the Georgian authorities, thus escalating the situation with the ultimate aim of extending military actions on Georgian territory;

Noting that the air force of one of the members of the Council of Europe is bombing the territory of another member state;

Considering that such actions are incompatible with the principles of the Council of Europe,

To ask the Committee of Ministers whether it will react adequately and ask the authorities of the Russian Federation to refrain in the future from taking the above-mentioned actions.

II. Reply by the Committee of Ministers

The Committee of Ministers has taken note of the question by the honourable parliamentarian and assures Mr Adamia that it continues to follow closely the situation in that area of Europe.

In this context the Committee can only reiterate its view that relations between neighbouring member states of the Council of Europe must be based on the values of the Organisation. Consequently it welcomes the results of the Georgian-Russian summit held in March 2003 and the readiness of the Presidents of the two countries to develop Georgian-Russian co-operation in the spirit of good neighbourliness, friendship and mutually beneficial partnership.