Council of Europe and 46 member states reaffirm strong support for Georgia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity

The Council of Europe and its 46 member states have once again reaffirmed their strong support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders, according to the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers earlier today adopted its 13th decision under the agenda item “The Council of Europe and the conflict in Georgia”, the Ministry said.

The decision states that Russia is in breach of its international obligations, including the 12 August 2008 ceasefire agreement brokered by the European Union and continues to maintain an illegal military presence in Georgia’s Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions.

Member states also welcomed the declaration of the Council of Europe Summit of Heads of State and Government held on 16–17 May 2023, which called on Russia to comply with its international obligations and to withdraw its forces from Georgian territory “immediately, fully and unconditionally”.

The Committee of Ministers further welcomed rulings of the European Court of Human Rights in interstate cases brought by Georgia against Russia, which established Russia’s responsibility for serious human rights violations during the occupation of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions and confirmed its effective control over Abkhazia prior to the August 2008 war.

The decision also referred to the Court’s most recent ruling of 14 October 2025 in the case Georgia v. Russia (IV), which ordered Russia to pay more than €253 million in compensation to over 29,000 Georgian citizens affected in the occupied territories.

The Committee of Ministers urged Russia to comply with the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and to ensure immediate and unrestricted access for Council of Europe monitoring bodies to territories outside the control of the Georgian government.

The Foreign Ministry said the decision, adopted in an unchanged format since 2014, represents an important legal and political document reflecting the clear position of the Council of Europe’s 46 member states on the situation in Georgia’s occupied regions.