Day: February 23, 2024

Yerevan has not sent official notifications regarding the freezing of membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the Zvezda TV channel.

“The Armenian side has not taken any official actions in this regard. We intend to contact our colleagues for clarification of the statements,” he said.

The comments come after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with France 24 that Armenia’s participation in the CSTO is actually frozen.

Peskov noted that in this case it is very important to understand the details. “Let’s hope that our Armenian friends will explain everything to us,” he added.

Yerevan has missed meetings in some integration formats. In particular, PM Nikol Pashinyan did not attend the CSTO summit in Minsk.

The equipment Armenia acquires from France serves defense purposes, French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said at a joint press conference with Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan.

“The protection of the population and borders is a priority in this region. And no one can criticize the Armenian army for strengthening its defense capacities,” the French Minister said.

He said France is ready to supply various range missiles to Armenia in case of necessity.

On February 23, the Georgian government announced that the loan rates will be reduced for more than 150,000 pensioners who received loans at higher rates before 2023. These rates will be adjusted to the rates set in 2023.

This decision was reached following the consultations held at the government administration, involving Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Acting President of the National Bank of Georgia Natia Turnava, and the General Director of “Liberty Bank” Beka Gogichaishvili.

According to Turnava, pension loans, including overdraft loans, taken out before 2023 are “loans with a particularly high interest rate… on average over 30% rates”, which will be reduced. She also added that the NBG will work with “Liberty Bank” on the implementation of this decision, on the details such as the starting date, the specific procedures for reducing the loans, etc.

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On February 23, Georgian leaders commemorated the cadets who died in the battle of Kojori-Tabakhmela in 1921 fighting against the Russian Red Army. The Prime Minister, the Speaker of the Parliament, the Mayor of Tbilisi, Ministers and deputies paid homage to the monument of the cadets in the courtyard of the Parliament. The President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili wasn’t invited to the ceremony and visited the memorial separately.

The Speaker of the Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, emphasized the role of the fallen cadets in Georgian history, noting: “This day always reminds us that the Georgian nation will never agree to its land being subordinated, occupied and treated as a part and province [of another state].” Speaking at the ceremony, he also noted that this day should remind Georgians to fight for the liberation: “Of course, we should not forget the dedicated struggle of the cadets against the occupation and we should complete the task of liberating our country from the occupation, which should end with the [restoration of] unity of our country.”

The President of Georgia laid a wreath at the memorial of the cadets in Kojori separately. The press release of the presidential administration clarifies: “Unfortunately, due to the fact that the President of Georgia was not invited by the Parliament, she did not have the opportunity to attend the memorial service for the souls of the cadets in the Annunciation Chapel located in the courtyard of the Parliament and to pay tribute to the memory of the cadets together with other representatives of state institutions.”

Speaking to journalists, Papuashvili said that President Zurabishvili was not invited to the ceremony because “last year she was invited and she did not attend the ceremony, ask her the reason, I don’t know why she did not come, so she was not there last year and we did not invite her this year either”.

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TI-Georgia says that the Georgian government’s action plan to meet the nine conditions for the opening of EU accession talks falls short of the requirement to strengthen Parliamentary control over the security sector.

The document prepared by TI-Georgia underlines the importance of this condition and states that the only measure included in the plan, namely the completion of the composition of the Parliamentary Group of Trust, “is not sufficient to meet the European Commission’s requirement.”

The watchdog stresses that the Parliamentary Group of Trust “lacks the necessary mandate and authority to ensure effective oversight of the security sector” and that the opposition’s role in the oversight process is a “mere formality.”

TI-Georgia states that in order to meet the EC’s requirements and to enable effective parliamentary oversight of the security sector, the following steps are necessary:

• To ensure comprehensive oversight of the State Security Service, the Parliament should establish a specialized body (a separate committee, a sub-committee, or a Trust Group with an expanded mandate). The composition of the specialized body/committee should be determined proportionally to the representation of the factions and the number of MPs without factions;
• The chairperson of such a specialized body should represent the opposition and members of the specialized body shall have the highest level of access to state secrets;
• The oversight mandate of the specialized body should encompass all facets of operations within the Security Service;
• The standing expert oversight council should be established within the specialized parliamentary body that will oversee the State Security Service and be accountable to the Parliament.

The watchdog notes that on December 13, 2023, it submitted a legislative proposal on strengthening parliamentary oversight of the security sector to the Parliament of Georgia. However, the Defense and Security Committee of the Parliament of Georgia declined the proposal.

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• 12/02/2024 – DRI: Government’s Security Oversight Action Plan Falls Short of EU Requirements
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• 09/01/2024 – CSOs Critical about the Content of Government’s Action Plan on EU Conditions
• 05/01/2024 – Government’s EU Action Plan: the Intention that Counts?