The 25th OSCE PA Winter Session is being held in Vienna, Austria

The Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee and Head of the Parliamentary Delegation to the OSCE PA, Nikoloz Samkharadze, is participating in the OSCE PA Winter Session.

 

Nikoloz Samkharadze delivered a speech at the plenary sitting of the Assembly, where he spoke about the importance of upholding the fundamental principles of international law, particularly the principle of territorial integrity, and about the alarming trends that have emerged recently.

 

“Recent developments confirm how fragile the commitment of major powers to the fundamental norms of international law can be. This is particularly concerning for states such as Georgia, whose regions—Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region—are occupied by Russia”, - Nikoloz Samkharadze stated.

 

He drew attention to the grave humanitarian situation in the occupied regions. According to him, the Russia-backed de facto “authorities” restrict the right of ethnic Georgian children to receive education in their native language. At the same time, occupying forces systematically alter the appearance of Georgian churches and monasteries, thereby deliberately erasing traces of Georgian religious and cultural heritage on land that has historically been an integral part of Georgian statehood.

 

The Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee expressed disappointment with the position of certain states on this issue, including those that consider themselves friends of Georgia.

 

“To this day, several European states and the European Union itself refrain from officially referring to Russia’s illegal presence in Georgia’s occupied territories as occupation. At the same time, they maintain close relations with those states and regimes that, at Moscow’s direction, recognize the ‘independence’ of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region”, - Nikoloz Samkharadze stated.

 

According to him, the EU allocated more than EUR 600 million in financial assistance to Syria for 2026–2027; however, this financial support was not linked to the revocation by Syria’s new authorities of the recognition of the “independence” of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region. He further noted that the same applies to another violator of Georgia’s territorial integrity—Nauru—which participates in various EU programs and receives millions of euros in support.

 

Nikoloz Samkharadze stated that providing financial assistance to states that violate international law further weakens the principle of territorial integrity and creates a dangerous precedent. According to him, any financial support should be clearly linked to respect for the fundamental norms of international law.

 

In concluding his remarks, the Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee and Head of the Delegation called on international partners to remain consistent in their principles and to practically uphold the values to which they declare commitment.

 

The 25th OSCE PA Winter Session is being held in Vienna, the capital of Austria, with participation by Nikoloz Samkharadze and Member of Parliament Eka Sepashvili, who is also a member of the Delegation.