NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said in a statement on November 14, that the Alliance “does not recognise the elections held on November 13 in the Georgian region of South Ossetia.”

“The holding of such elections does not contribute to a peaceful and lasting settlement of the situation in Georgia. The Alliance reiterates its full support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognised borders,” the statement reads.

Rasmussen said when he visited Georgia last week, that the Alliance’s reaction to the elections in South Ossetia “will be exactly the same as to the elections in Abkhazia” in August, 2011.

“We pursue a clear non-recognition policy; we have not recognized and we will not recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states… We insist on full respect for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Rasmussen said on November 9 in Tbilisi.