The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia responds to the second round of the so-called presidential elections conducted by Russia in the occupied Tskhinvali region on May 8.
"Under Russia’s occupation and effective control on the ground, no election will have any legal effect, when, as a result of ethnic cleansing of Georgians, hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons from Abkhazia and Tskhinvali are still deprived of the opportunity to return to their homes safely and with dignity, while the rights and freedoms of people remaining in the regions are grossly violated. Russia's effective control over the occupied regions of Georgia and its responsibility for human rights violations is clearly confirmed by the decision of the European Court of Human Rights of January 21, 2021,” reads the statement.