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Kremlin Says Russia Will Not Comply with ECtHR Order to Pay Georgia Euro253 Million
The Kremlin has announced that Russia will not comply with a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ordering it to pay Georgia more than 253 million euros in compensation for human rights violations that followed the August 2008 war.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Moscow rejects the Court's decision, despite the ECtHR's clarification that Russia remains bound by judgments related to events that took place before September 16, 2022, when the country officially withdrew from the European Convention on Human Rights.
"We will not comply with the decision," Peskov said at a briefing, according to a report by the Russian state news agency TASS. When asked whether paying the compensation could help improve relations between Georgia and Russia, he replied, "We believe this is a separate issue, a separate matter."
The ECtHR issued its ruling on October 14 in the case Georgia v. Russia (IV), unanimously awarding 253,018,000 euros in non-pecuniary damages to more than 29,000 victims. The Court found that Russia was responsible for widespread violations stemming from the so-called "borderization" process along the occupation lines with Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region.
The damages cover abuses such as excessive use of force, ill-treatment, unlawful detention, and severe restrictions on freedom of movement. These findings build on an earlier ruling issued in April 2024, which established Russia's responsibility for human rights violations in the occupied territories.
Despite Moscow's withdrawal from the European Convention, the Court stressed that Russia remains legally obliged to implement rulings concerning actions that occurred while it was still a party to the Convention.
Finnish Foreign Minister Says She Canceled Meeting with Kobakhidze, Contradicting Tbilisi's Claim
A diplomatic disagreement has emerged between Georgia and Finland after both sides offered conflicting accounts of a canceled meeting between Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, who visited Tbilisi in her role as Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
On the morning of October 15, the Georgian government announced that Kobakhidze had called off the planned meeting after Valtonen attended a pro-EU and anti-government rally in central Tbilisi. "Yesterday, for participating in an illegal rally and making false statements, the Prime Minister canceled the planned meeting with the Finnish Foreign Minister," the Georgian Dream administration said in a Facebook post.
However, Finland's Helsingin Sanomat reported later that day that it was Valtonen who canceled the meeting first. Speaking to the newspaper, the Finnish minister said the decision was made "at the initiative of Finland due to a schedule change, and the Georgians were informed of it last night."
Valtonen's visit to Georgia on October 14-15 included meetings with officials and representatives of civil society. Late on October 14, she appeared briefly at a rally on Rustaveli Avenue, where demonstrators have gathered nightly outside Parliament for more than 320 days to express support for Georgia's European integration and opposition to the ruling party's policies.
Her appearance sparked criticism from Georgian Dream officials, who accused her of interfering in domestic affairs. Valtonen, however, said she attended the rally to express solidarity with citizens exercising their right to protest. "I specifically went to watch the protests that were taking place in Georgia for weeks and months. I wanted to express my support for freedom of speech," she told Helsingin Sanomat.
Referring to her onward travel plans, Valtonen added, "It is up to the Georgian government how they react. Unfortunately, I myself had to react by canceling the meeting with the Prime Minister in order to get to Azerbaijan."