The European Union (EU) on Thursday expressed serious concerns about Russia's plans to build military bases in Georgia's two breakaway regions.
"The European Union is seriously concerned about the plans announced by the Russian Federation to build up its military presence in the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia without the consent of the government of Georgia," said a statement of the Czech Republic, which holds the EU presidency.
"The EU would consider the implementation of such plans to be a serious violation of the principle of Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, to which the EU is strongly committed," said the statement.
Any military build-up in Abkhazia and South Ossetia would be in contradiction with the spirit of the August and September 2008 ceasefire agreements and jeopardize stability and security in the region by further increasing tensions, it said.
The EU asked Russia to act in a responsible manner and to continue to implement all its commitments. The EU also called on Russia to use all relevant international forums, in particular the talks in Geneva, to discuss security matters.