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Georgian leader accuses Lukashenko of breaching bilateral relations after Abkhazia visit

Earlier in the day, Belarusian Ambassador in Tbilisi Anatoly Lis had been summoned to the Georgian Foreign Ministry after Belarusian President Lukashenko’s visit to Abkhazia

TBILISI, September 28. /TASS/. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of breaching bilateral relations as well as international law in the wake of his visit to Abkhazia, the Georgian president stated on her Twitter account.

Zurabishvili stated on her Twitter account that she "strictly condemned Lukashenko’s visit," which she viewed as "an unacceptable violation of Georgia’s law on areas under occupation, the principles of our bilateral relations and international law."

Earlier in the day, Belarusian Ambassador in Tbilisi Anatoly Lis had been summoned to the Georgian Foreign Ministry after Belarusian President Lukashenko’s visit to Abkhazia. The Foreign Ministry of Abkhazia reported earlier in the day that Lukashenko paid an official visit to Abkhazia and held a meeting with President Aslan Bzhania.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry announced in a statement earlier on Wednesday that it condemned "the violation of the Georgian state border by Alexander Lukashenko with his so-called visit to the occupied Abkhazia region, which blatantly infringes the fundamental principles and norms of international law."

"We call on the Belarusian side to respect the territorial integrity of a sovereign state within its internationally recognized borders, and not to take the actions which contradict the fundamental principles of international law," the Georgian Foreign Ministry’s statement added.

Russia recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia on August 26, 2008, after Georgia had mounted a nocturnal offensive against South Ossetia on August 8. Moscow intervened to protect civilians, many of whom had obtained Russian citizenship, and Russian peacekeepers have been stationed in the region since 1992. In a five-day armed clash, more than one thousand people, including 72 Russian peacekeepers, lost their lives.

Tbilisi severed diplomatic ties with Moscow in response and stated that the territories at issue had been occupied.