Occupied territories of Georgia
In 2012 the European Commission considered that Georgia's "continued application of the law on Occupied Territories" was a concern for the effectiveness of the "engagement strategy" with the breakaway territories, and in 2013 noted that there had been no change to the "restrictive aspects of the law" but that it hoped for a "more relaxed implementation of the Law" from the new government in Georgia.Russia claims, that "Abkhazia and South Ossetia are not occupied territories, but independent States."
The Russian Federation also holds that it "... does not at present, nor will it in the future, exercise effective control over South Ossetia or Abkhazia;" and "it was not an occupying power." It also noted that "despite having crossed into the territory of Georgia in the course of the conflict, Russia was not an occupying power in terms of IHL." According to Russia, "the number of Russian troops stationed in South Ossetia and Abkhazia [...] does not allow Russia in practice to establish effective control over these territories which total 12 500 sq. kilometers in size."
Occupied territories of Georgia
The process of border demarcation continued in February 2013. Russian troops started the installation of barbed wire barriers to separate the South Ossetian territory from the rest of Georgia. In some instances, the Georgian residents could not access their plots or come out of their homes because the border of barbed wire runs through or around their property. According to Georgia's Interior Ministry, there was no fencing activities at the administrative border of Georgia’s other breakaway region of Abkhazia, where the Enguri river served as "a natural dividing line", but Russian troops were blocking the pathways to prevent "illegal" movement across the administrative boundary line. The new South Ossetia-Georgia border extended between 50–300 meters beyond the occupation line. By August 2013, an estimated 27 kilometers of barriers had been built.