Priorities of National Security Policy 1.Ending the occupation of Georgia’s territories; relations with the Russian Federation. 1.1. Ending the occupation: Ending the occupation of Georgia’s territories, the reintegration of people living in these territories, and the restoration of Georgian sovereignty on the whole territory of the country are the most important priorities of the country’s national security policy. The Government of Georgia is determined to take timely and effective steps toward the deoccupation of Georgian territories through peaceful means, based on the principles of international law. Georgia remains committed to the non-use of force obligations undertaken under the Russian-Georgian Ceasefire Agreement of August 12, 2008. At the same time, Georgia has undertaken a unilateral commitment on non-use of force, as declared by the President of Georgia during his speech to the European Parliament on November 23, 2010. This obligation was confirmed by the letter of the President of Georgia to the leadership of the EU, NATO, UN, and OSCE, as well as to the President of the United States. Georgia continues to propose peaceful initiatives, including ones that envisage granting broad autonomy to the currently occupied regions, based on the European experiences. Georgia welcomes all peaceful initiatives and proposals that would foster de-occupation of the territories. In order to advance the de-occupation of Georgian territories, the greater involvement of the international community is required in order to influence the Russian Federation. Specifically, Russia must be persuaded to undertake a non-aggression obligation vis-à-vis Georgia and to observe the norms of international law, including the principle of not deploying military forces on a sovereign nation’s territory without its consent. Moreover, Russia must respect all of its obligations under the EU-brokered Russian-Georgian Ceasefire Agreement of August 12, 2008—above all to withdraw its military forces from the occupied territories. The adoption of the term “occupation” in international political and legal documents is also an important component of the de-occupation policy. In this regard, the documents adopted by the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the US Senate, and legislative bodies of other partner nations of Georgia carry great importance. The Government of Georgia believes that the only efficient means for defusing tensions is the creation of a peaceful mechanism to provide for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied territories, and the deployment of international peacekeeping/police forces there. Consequently, the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) is important for Georgia. 11

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