Ministarstvo vanjskih i europskih poslova

UN Security Council debate on the situation in Georgia

Stalni predstavnik RH pri Ujedinjenim narodima, veleposlanik Neven Jurica, održao je govor u raspravi Vijeca sigurnosti UN-a o stanju u Gruziji.

Mr. President, allow me to thank the representatives from the DPA and DPKO for their briefings, and welcome the presence of the Permanent Representative of Georgia to the Council. Let me begin by expressing our regret at the Russian Federation decision to formally recognize the independence of the two Georgian regions – Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Croatia strongly reiterates its support, as it has on numerous occasions in discussions on this subject in the past, for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders. The unfortunate decision on the recognition of these two Georgian regions in our opinion is not in accordance with the Charter of the UN, the Helsinki Final Act and previous resolutions of the Security Council confirming the aforementioned principle, to which the Russian Federation rendered its support. We are also concerned by the fact that this decision can effectively negate all the progress that has been achieved thus far towards a possible resolution to the situation in Georgia. It is self evident that further progress in this regard, having in mind the new circumstances, will be extremely hard to achieve. Notwithstanding, we need to continuously put our efforts together to achieve a reasonable peaceful political solution to this crisis. We believe that the best option would be to resort to negotiations as provided for in the six principle agreement between the Russian and French Presidents. The politics of presenting a fait accompli is not acceptable as it does not leave the option for a negotiated settlement and therefore the process needs to return to the realm of political negotiations. My Government strongly supports the efforts of the EU and the OSCE aimed at resolving the current crisis. Croatia reiterates its support for the six-principle agreement. According to this agreement all military action must cease and military forces must return to their positions held prior to the outbreak of hostilities. Although Russia pulled out the majority of its forces from Georgia last Friday, Russia is still maintaining a presence both within the two regions and in buffer zones imposed around their boundaries. Finally, Croatia is extremely concerned by the humanitarian situation on the ground and the large number of refugees and IDP's. My Government, acting together with the relevant international organizations and interested Governments, will continue to provide help to all those in need. We believe that all refugees and IDP's should be given the right to return to their homes and continue their lives in a secure and safe environment. Thank you, Mr. President.

Priopćenja