The EU observers’ mission is failing to curb Georgian violations of the peace plan, Russia’s Foreign Minister has said. Sergey Lavrov has accused the European Union of “playing with fire”.
Lavrov made the statement after a meeting with his Latvian counterpart, Maris Riekstins in Moscow. “The Georgian side is not fulfilling its obligations to return its troops to their military bases,” he said. He added that Georgia “regularly sends special forces and other armed units to the areas bordering South Osetia and Abkhazia”. “We are especially worried by the fact that the European Union observers pay too little attention to these actions. We should not forget that the European Union acts as a guarantor of the non-use of force against South Osetia and Abkhazia,” he said. “This is playing with fire,” Lavrov added. Russia recognised independence of the two breakaway republics on August 26.