Decision of the Council of Europe - “The Council of Europe and the Conflict in Georgia”

On 6 May 2026, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted its thirteenth decision  under the agenda item entitled “The Council of Europe and the Conflict in Georgia.”

The Council of Europe and its 46 Member States once again reaffirm their steadfast support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders.

The decision notes that the Russian Federation is in breach of its international obligations, including the EU-mediated 12 August 2008 ceasefire agreement, and continues its illegal military presence in the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions of Georgia.

The Committee of Ministers’ decision further states that member States once again welcome the Declaration adopted at the 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe, held on 16-17 May 2023, in which the leaders of the Organization’s member States called upon the Russian Federation to comply with its international obligations and to withdraw its forces from the territory of Georgia immediately, fully, and unconditionally.

By its decision of 6 May, the member States of the Council of Europe also welcome the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in the inter-State cases brought by Georgia against the Russian Federation, which establish the responsibility of the Russian Federation for grave violations of human rights during the occupation of the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions of Georgia and confirm the Russian Federation’s effective control over occupied Abkhazia prior to the August 2008 Russia-Georgia war.

The decision welcomes the most recent judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, delivered on 14 October 2025, whereby the Strasbourg Court, in the case of Georgia v. Russia (IV), ordered the Russian Federation to pay EUR 253 million in compensation for the benefit of more than 29,000 citizens affected in the occupied territories of Georgia.

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe calls upon the Russian Federation to execute the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and to ensure the immediate and unimpeded access of the Council of Europe’s monitoring mechanisms to the territories of Georgia beyond the control of the Government.

It is noteworthy that the Committee of Ministers has adopted this decision without alteration since 2014. The decision constitutes an important legal and political instrument, reflecting the clear and consolidated position of the 46 member States of the Council of Europe with regard to the grave situation prevailing in Georgia’s occupied regions.