“The tragic reality we are witnessing today in the heart of Europe requires greater efforts to restore peace in the region. Blatant violations of international norms must not go unanswered,” stated the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Maka Botchorishvili. She is currently in The Hague participating in the diplomatic conference launching the International Claims Commission for Ukraine, under the auspices of the Council of Europe.

According to Minister Botchorishvili, Ukraine must be equipped with the appropriate instruments to obtain compensation for the damage inflicted upon the country and its population as a result of the unjust war.

“Georgia, as a founding member of the Register of Damage, welcomes this step towards the establishment of an international compensation mechanism, of which the International Claims Commission will become an integral part,” Botchorishvili emphasized.

In her address, the Foreign Minister also drew attention to Georgia’s own difficult experience, noting that the country understands better than most the importance of upholding international norms and the high price societies pay in the face of injustice.

“Even today, we continue our struggle and make use of existing legal mechanisms to ensure that the violated rights of our citizens, resulting from Russia’s occupation of two regions of Georgia, are not forgotten.

Despite numerous decisions by international courts holding Russia responsible vis-à-vis Georgia, it continues to disregard international law and its international obligations,” the Minister stated.

Maka Botchorishvili also underscored Georgia’s steadfast commitment to the peaceful resolution of conflicts and highlighted the importance of a unified response from the international community in this regard.

Notably, the diplomatic conference is attended by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Dick Schoof; the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy; the President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, as well as high-level representatives from other member states of the organization.

The information has been released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.