We urge Russia to obey the 2008 cease-fire agreement and to withdraw its forces, - Elizabeth Rood, Chargé d'Affaires at the Embassy of the United States of America to Georgia, told reporters on Tuesday.

According to the US diplomat, it is an alarming fact, when the checkpoints are blocked at the administrative border, which causes a difficult humanitarian situation for people living beyond the administrative line.

“The United States is concerned about the situation at the administrative dividing line with “South Ossetia ", especially in Chorchana, and we urge the Russian and Ossetian sides to take all necessary measures to de-escalate the situation. In addition, it is also important to use all the available mechanisms to defuse the situation, including the EU Monitoring Mission, the hotline and so on. Moreover, we urge Russia to obey the 2008 ceasefire agreement and withdraw its forces. We are also very concerned about the fact that the checkpoints are locked at the administrative border, as it causes a very difficult humanitarian situation for those people, who live beyond the administrative line. That's why we call on the de facto authorities to open a checkpoint, ” Elizabeth Rood said.