Georgia accuses Russia of moving border near oil pipeline

The European Union warned of growing tensions on Thursday amid reports that Russia had seized control of part of an worldwide oil pipeline by unilaterally redrawing Georgia’s border with a Russian-backed breakaway republic. Moscow denies the accusations, but residents in the villages told reporters a different story.

“We’ve lost most of our fields”, said a farmer from Tsitelubani, one of the villages affected by the newly declared border.

Georgian protesters carry a Georgian flag near Georgia’s de-facto border with its breakaway region of South Ossetia in the village of Khurvaleti, Georgia, Tuesday, July 14, 2015.

After the war, Moscow recognized South Ossetia – along with the Georgian separatist enclave of Abkhazia – as independent states and stationed thousands of troops in the regions that make up some 20 percent of Georgian territory.

830km BP-operated Baku-Supsa pipeline, also known as the Western Route Export Pipeline (WREP), runs from Azerbaijan to the Georgian Black Sea terminal of Supsa and has the capacity of transporting up to 100,000 barrels of oil a day.

The foreign ministry had expressed concern in an earlier statement on Monday over the placement of banners by the Russian occupying forces on July 10 marking the border in the South Ossetia region, which has not been controlled by Georgia since 2008.

In April 2009, Russia strengthened its position in South Ossetia by signing a five-year agreement to patrol its borders with Russian troops.

The Kremlin has not made any comment on the issue thus far, and commentators believe that this air of mystery is part of its strategy in Georgia just as it is in Ukraine. Now, Russian Federation appears to be expanding the Georgian territories it holds.

The current Georgian government came to power promising to reduce tensions with Moscow, and this latest turn of events undermines its efforts.

Although diplomatic ties are still suspended, Georgia’s special envoy to Russia, Zurab Abishidze, promised to bring up the “dangerous provocation” during a scheduled meeting with Russian officials this week.