Russia has kept Abkhazia and South Ossetia illegally occupied for more than 10 years, Putin violated the international law principles and remains unpunished – Christopher Smith, American Congressman said following adoption of a resolution which disapproves Russia’s participation in future G7 summits.

"For over 10 years Russia has illegally occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which make up 20% of Georgia"s territory. I arrived in Tbilisi one week after Russia’s intrusion into South Ossetia in 2008 and saw the Internally Displaced Persons and killed and wounded civilians when Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he revived the Soviet Union. He violated fundamental principles of international law, rejected the standards of a democratic society, and refused to recognize the territorial integrity of neighboring countries. Putin is unpunished. Russian invasions and occupations have made thousands of internally displaced persons in Georgia and Ukraine. As a result, the human rights of the population of these two countries have been violated”, - said American Congressman.

According to Smith, one of the reasons for this decision is Putin’s violent regime and occupation of Georgian and Ukrainian territories.