Armenian FM briefs Greek counterpart on situation resulting from … Public Radio of Armenia
Day: October 4, 2023
Мэрия Тбилиси планирует запретить движение грузовиков в столице на несколько часов в день. Об этом сегодня, 4 октября, сообщил мэр Каха Каладзе. По словам Каладзе, на данный момент решение окончательно не принято, однако ведутся переговоры с бизнес-сектором об ограничении времени с 08:00 до 11:00 часов и с 17:00 до 20:00 часов для транспортных средств категории […]
Salome Zurabishvili on impeachment
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, whose impeachment hearings resumed at the Constitutional Court on October 4, thanked her representatives in the court – Tamar Chugoshvili and Maia Kopaleishvili.
“Thank you to my representatives, who during the unprecedented trial withstood all kinds of psychological, moral pressure and insults both in my and their address, and in the face of absurd accusations and non-existent evidence worthily defended the institution of the country’s president,” Zurabishvili wrote.
In turn, Tamar Chugoshvili said that today she only made sure that the president did not violate the constitution.
“Today I was even more convinced of what I already knew: the President of Georgia has not violated the constitution. What we are hearing is only aimed at the fact that the President of Georgia is simply isolated from the possibility of representing the country in any way, and it is necessary in order to prevent her from doing what she does best – representing this country, especially in the context of European integration,” Chugoshvili said.
The Constitutional Court held its first hearing of the impeachment case yesterday.
- Will the Georgian authorities be able to declare impeachment of the president, and why did they go for it?
- I’m not going anywhere, you should stop dreaming about my resignation’ – Georgian president
On September 1, 2023, it became known that the ruling Georgian Dream party started impeachment proceedings against the president. It was stated that the president had grossly violated the constitution when she made several visits to foreign countries without the consent of the government.
In particular, we are talking about three working meetings: August 31 with the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, September 1 with the President of the European Council and September 6 with the President of France.
Zurabishvili stated that she makes foreign visits on her own funds and lobbies abroad to grant Georgia the status of a candidate for EU membership.
Constitutional Court Chairman Merab Turava told reporters that “the Georgian president’s presence at the Constitutional Court session was expected.”
“The participation of representatives instead of her may prevent a perfect decision from being made. The president’s representatives will not be able to give details about the president’s visits and will only have answers to legal questions,” Turava said.
In addition, Turava told reporters, if the Constitutional Court is not satisfied with the outcome of today’s case, then the president will be invited to personally attend the hearing tomorrow, October 4.
If the Constitutional Court agrees with the ruling party’s statement, the impeachment issue will go to parliament for a vote. It needs 100 votes for approval, and the ruling party needs to be able to get opposition MPs on its side if it is to succeed.
Inside the opposition, it is not ruled out that the Georgian Dream will manage to recruit some opposition members and get the 100 votes needed for impeachment.
Top officials from the United States and the EU met with their Russian counterparts for undisclosed emergency talks in Turkey designed to resolve the standoff over Nagorno-Karabakh, just days before Azerbaijan launched a military offensive against Nagorno Karabakh on September 19, POLITICO claims.
POLITICO quotes a senior diplomat with knowledge of the discussions as saying the meeting took place on September 17 in Istanbul as part of efforts to pressure Azerbaijan to end its nine-month blockade of Nagorno Karabakh and allow in humanitarian aid convoys from Armenia. According to the envoy, the meeting focused on “how to get the bloody trucks moving” and ensure supplies of food and fuel could reach its estimated 100,000 residents.
According to the source, the U.S. was represented by Louis Bono, Washington’s senior adviser for Caucasus negotiations, while the EU dispatched Toivo Klaar, its representative for the region. Russia, meanwhile, sent Igor Khovaev, who serves as Putin’s special envoy on relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
In a statement provided to POLITICO, an EU official said “we believe it is important to maintain channels of communications with relevant interlocutors to avoid misunderstandings.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department declined to comment on the meeting, saying only that “we do not comment on private diplomatic discussions.”
However, a U.S. official familiar with the matter who was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic matters explained the discussions came out of an understanding that the Kremlin still holds sway in the region. “We need to be able to work with the Russians on this because they do have influence over the parties, especially as we’re at a precarious moment right now,” the American official said.
Azerbaijan launched a lightning offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19. Karabakh Armenian leaders were forced to accept a ceasefire offered by the Russian peacekeepers. Since then, more than 100,000 people have fled their homes and moved to Armenia.
The European Union welcomes ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on Tuesday. After the signature by the Armenian President, the decision will enter into force, EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell said in a statement.
“The ICC is the first permanent international court established to investigate and prosecute the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole,” he said.
“The EU calls on all States that have not yet done so, to accede to the Rome Statute. Every single accession to the Rome Statute brings the international community closer to universal participation and strengthens the shared resolve to end impunity and foster a culture of accountability,” Borrell stated.
“Along with our international partners, the EU will continue to work for and promote the ratification and implementation of the Rome Statute, and the integrity of the ICC,” he concluded.
