Day: September 16, 2024
Russland oder EU? Georgien vor der Zerreißprobe. Von Christian F. Trippe @CFTrippe https://t.co/Ryjvr2l1xr via @DeutscheWelle
— Notes from Georgia/South Caucasus (Hälbig, Ralph) (@SouthCaucasus) September 16, 2024
Reactions from Occupied Abkhazia, Tskhinvali Region to Ivanishvili’s Announced Intention to Apologize “to Ossetian Brothers and Sisters” via @CivilGe https://t.co/G1ytWZUVA4
— Notes from Georgia/South Caucasus (Hälbig, Ralph) (@SouthCaucasus) September 16, 2024
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“During today’s meeting, I expressed my gratitude to my colleague for the historic decision to support the UN Resolution on the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region. This decision will further strengthen the ties between our countries,” stated Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze at a joint briefing with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of the Armenian delegation’s visit to Georgia, noting that the signing of a strategic partnership agreement would enhance Georgia-Armenia relations.
Irakli Kobakhidze conveyed his honour in hosting a representative delegation from Armenia. He recalled his visit to Armenia in March and thanked his Armenian counterparts for their warm hospitality.
“The relationship between Georgia and Armenia is founded on centuries of friendship and mutual respect between our peoples. I am pleased that this has now evolved into a strategic partnership that will foster the deepening of our relations.
I believe that the signing of a strategic partnership agreement has played a crucial role in enhancing our bilateral ties and has yielded tangible, practical outcomes.
Once again, during today’s meeting, I expressed my appreciation to my colleague for the historic decision to support the UN Resolution on the return of IDPs from Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region. This pivotal decision will undoubtedly further fortify the relationship between our nations,” he concluded.
Michael_Novakhov shared this story . |
Dear Prime Minister, I truly believe that we have a historic opportunity to end the conflicts in the South Caucasus and create sustainable peace in our region – we highly appreciate the efforts of the Georgian government – the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan told the Prime Minister of Georgia at the press conference.
According to him, Georgia’s policy is aimed at contributing to regional and international stability and peace.
As Pashinyan notes, the beneficiaries of the peace achieved in the South Caucasus are not only Armenia and Azerbaijan, but also Georgia, Turkey and Iran.
“I am glad that I have come to friendly Georgia once again. Thank you very much for the traditional warm welcome and hospitality that my delegation received during the last period. We managed to expand the comprehensive cooperation between our countries in all fields. The best indicator of this is that in January of this year, the cooperation between Georgia and Armenia rose to the level of a higher strategic partnership. We have thus managed to establish an effective and viable mechanism of periodic contacts based on mutual interests as well as principles and democratic values accepted by the wise peoples of our countries.
I must emphasize that Georgia and Armenia unconditionally recognized the territorial integrity and sovereignty of each country. I consider this fact one of the important factors to achieve stability and long lasting peace in the South Caucasus.
Dear colleagues, we had the opportunity to discuss a number of issues related to achieving lasting peace and stability in our region. I presented to my colleague the latest development information in the process of Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization. I must mention that during the difficult negotiations, within the framework of the delimitation-demarcation process with Azerbaijan, we managed to achieve some progress. Armenia and Azerbaijan reached an agreement to operate within the framework of the delimitation process based on the provisions of the 1991 Almaty Declaration. Which means that the basis for this process will be the definition of administrative borders between the former Soviet republics. We expect that in the near future we will achieve practical progress in the delimitation of the Armenia-Georgia border. We have expressed common positions in this regard. I think you know that as a result of almost 2 years of negotiations, Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed on 80% of the treaty establishing peace and interstate relations. We proposed that Azerbaijan sign up to the provisions that had already been agreed upon. It was also proposed to establish diplomatic relations and resolve all other important issues that are of mutual interest. Unblocking and full operation of all economic, infrastructure and communications is the topic of stability and economic development of the region, which we consider a priority of our government. Our idea on this issue is best reflected in the Crossroads of Peace project, which was created by the Armenian government and which I first shared with our international partners during the conference in Tbilisi.
Dear Prime Minister, I truly believe that we have a historic opportunity to end the conflicts in the South Caucasus and create lasting peace in our region. I am also sure that the beneficiaries of this peace are not only Armenia and Azerbaijan, but also Georgia and Turkey. Iran will also benefit. That is why, despite all the difficulties, our government will steadily and unyieldingly continue to make all efforts to make peace in the region possible. We highly appreciate the efforts of the Government of Georgia, that your contribution was also made. Your policy is aimed at contributing to regional and international stability and peace,” Pashinyan said.
De-facto authorities in the Russia-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region have reacted to the ruling Georgian Dream leader Bidzina Ivanishvili’s statement which blamed the 2008 war on the “external forces” and the Georgian government of the time. Ivanishvili said the Georgian people “will find it in themselves to apologize.” De-facto Sokhumi authorities welcomed the statement “if it is supported with real steps,” while the occupation regime in Tskhinvali links it to Georgia’s upcoming Parliamentary elections.
A de-facto official from the occupied Tskhinvali region’s “presidential administration” Yuri Vazagov said that they expect “not only verbal declarations but also practical steps, including within the framework of the Geneva discussions, where the main issue remains achieving agreements on a legally binding document for security guarantees,” Jam-News reported on September 15.
“The independence of South Ossetia cannot be a subject of discussion. Regarding Bidzina Ivanishvili’s remarks, it should be noted that Georgia is currently in the midst of an election campaign. The competition between major political forces ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 26 has become quite intense,” he said, adding that “the tone of statements made by various political forces, and those that will be made, is directly related to the electoral cycle, and South Ossetia does not interfere in the domestic political processes of neighboring countries.”
The so-called opposition representative of the occupied region Atsamaz Bibilov, leader of the party United Ossetia said: “Georgia must acknowledge its guilt for starting the war and committing war crimes in South Ossetia; only then can we consider Georgian politicians’ apologies to be sincere.” He is also of the opinion that Ivanishvili’s promises are driven by pre-election campaign: “With elections approaching, the current government, represented by Georgian Dream, is making various statements about South Ossetia and Abkhazia. However, in practice, the Georgian side is taking no steps toward joint delimitation and demarcation of the South Ossetia-Georgia border.”
According to the September 16 statement by the de-facto foreign ministry of the Russia-occupied Abkhazia, “although this statement does not directly concern the Republic of Abkhazia, we want to note that such a statement, if it is supported by real steps towards reconciliation, based on reassessment of past mistakes and apologies to the peoples of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, abandonment of political and economic pressure methods, and the signing of a peace treaty, could become the beginning of a process leading to peaceful coexistence and good-neighborly relations.”
The de-facto Abkhazian authorities believe that the ruling Georgian Dream honorary chairman’s statement shows “that there is still a resource for internal reassessment and recognition of mistakes in Georgia.”
Artwork by Tsisia Kiladze @TsisiaKiladze #GeorgianArt – more: https://t.co/YNl5DtIVLa pic.twitter.com/0kHvhjPPxZ
— Notes from Georgia/South Caucasus (Hälbig, Ralph) (@SouthCaucasus) September 16, 2024
Biblical stories in Svaneti in the Caucasus. Photography by the German writer Constanze John pic.twitter.com/Pol1C5ohiD
— Notes from Georgia/South Caucasus (Hälbig, Ralph) (@SouthCaucasus) September 16, 2024