Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia
The Georgian Foreign Ministry does not recognize the referendum conducted in Crimea on the 16th of March 2014 amid pressure from Russian armed forces, in defiance of the universally recognized norms and principles of International Law, with complete disregard for the Ukrainian national laws.
Russia’s attempt to annex Crimea represents a blatant violation of the commitments it has undertaken both under multilateral and bilateral agreements.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry unequivocally reaffirms its support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and calls upon the international community to consolidate efforts to make the Russian Federation order its troops back to base, to immediately de-escalate the situation in Crimea as well as in other regions of Ukraine, to enter into direct talks with the Ukrainian Authorities and to co-operate with the international community in order to find ways to deal with the existing situation.
Tbilisi, 16 March 2014
