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NEWS
GEORGIA TODAY
APRIL 1 - 4, 2016
UK Foreign Secretary Calls Russia Main Threat to International Peace British Ambassador Alexandra Hall Hall, Right Honourable Philip Hammond MP, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Marina Tsitsishvili, President of the Georgian Branch of the English Speaking Union who was awarded an honorary Member of the Order of British Empire (MBE)
BY NICHOLAS WALLER
U
K Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Wednesday called Russia the greatest threat to global peace due to its blatant disregard for international legal and ethical norms. “Russia ignores the norms of accepted conduct and breaks the rules of the international system. That represents a challenge and a threat to all of us,” Hammond said when asked whether Russia under its increasingly autocratic President Vladimir Putin remains a threat to the global community. Hammond demanded that Moscow begin cooperating with the West in good faith and play a more constructive role in the world “under the same international norms that responsible countries operate from.” Russia remains a major threat to the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as Georgia and Ukraine, as Moscow’s attempts to stir antiWestern sentiments and foment pro-Russian separatist movements in the former republics of the Soviet Union. Putin’s hyper-reactive use of force and asymmetrical methods of undermining the authority of sovereign governments on its immediate borders constitutes a clear and present danger to international security, Hammond said. Hammond was in Tbilisi to meet with Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikasvili to discuss security issues in the Caucasus region and to visit the South Caucasus Pipeline, operated by British energy giant BP. Kvirikasvili was quick to thank Hammond for the UK government’s continued support for Georgia’s
First Georgian National Receives Honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire territorial integrity, which he said reiterated the close alliance forged between London and Tbilisi immediately after the Soviet Union’s collapse. In his comments to the press, Kvirikashvili said the current security situation in Georgia is similar to problems facing Ukraine, as both countries suffer from Russia’s support for heavily armed proRussian separatist movements. “Georgia and Ukraine have the same problem… Russia violates our sovereignty. It will be continue to be a significant security challenge for Georgia if Russia refuses to recognize the territorial integrity and free will of our people,” Kvirikashvili said. Russia continues to support Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia with massive military personnel and substantial state subsidies. Like the current conflict in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region, Moscow and its local proxies fought bloody separatist wars against federal authorities in an attempt to install pro-Russian governments in the rebel regions.
BY KATIE RUTH DAVIES
M
arina Tsitsishvili, President of the Georgian Branch of the English Speaking Union was awarded an honorary Member of the Order of British Empire (MBE) in the Queen’s New Year Honors List for services to UKGeorgian cultural and educational relations. She is the first ever Georgian recipient of a British honorary award. MBEs are given in recognition of exceptional achievement and service in the promotion of friendship and understanding between the UK and foreign countries. British Ambassador Alexandra Hall Hall hosted an event at the Embassy on Wednesday to commemorate the award in the presence of the Right Honourable Philip Hammond MP, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. “I am delighted to be able to congratulate Marina on this honor given by Her Majesty the Queen,” Ambassador Hall Hall said. “It is people like Marina who lay foundations for friendships between countries. She is a real role model of dedication and loyalty to both our countries. It is particularly fitting that this award for strengthening cultural and educational relations between the UK and Georgia, comes in the year when Georgia celebrates Rustave-
li’s 850th anniversary and the UK marks 400 years since Shakespeare’s death.” The award is a recognition of Marina’s work to promote English culture and language in Georgia, including through establishing and becoming President of the Georgian Branch of the English Speaking Union; organizing an annual English language Public Speaking Competition; founding a non-profit International Center for Cultural and Business Relations to facilitate exchanges of students, statesmen and journalists between the UK and Georgia; supporting medical exchanges; and last year opening a school, performing arts center and cafe in in Vake Park, Tbilisi (The British Corner) to promote the English language, British culture and cuisine. The commemorative certificate, coming in lieu of the official insignia, which will be sent over in the summer, was awarded to Marina by the Right Honourable Philip Hammond. “Let me present you with this certificate and thank you for everything you have done to further Georgian and British relationships. Culture is a vitally important part of building relationships between two countries- and not the only part, as economic links, politics and sports also play an important role. But culture is an area we take very seriously. I hope the work you have done will deepen and strengthen the links between our countries and that we’ll be seeing many more young Georgian s visiting the UK and many more Brits visiting Georgia.”
EPP President Comes under Fire for Dampening Hopes for Visa Liberalization Continued from page 1
“This person is corrupt, and we call on him not to damage the future of Georgia,” said Zurab Dokhadze, participant of the rally. “I want to tell Georgians – you will have visa liberalization, but it can be delayed,” Daul announced following a visit to UNM members Vano Merabishvili, Bacho Akhalaia and Gigi Ugulava, all currently serving sentences in the “Matrosov” prison. “I have always considered Georgia to be a country that has the right and the obligation to join the European Union. I would be the first to support the idea, if possible, to allow for visa liberalization, but I do not want to raise false hope. In my experi-
ence, I know that people who are waiting for something can sometimes be disappointed. People should be prepared for any decision,” he said. Daul emphasized that there are a number of ongoing procedures in the process of visa liberalization which made it hard to confirm whether visa liberalization would be granted on the anticipated 15 June or at the end of the year. “The European Commission made a decision on the visa issue, but the Council and the European Parliament have yet to make their decisions,” Daul reminded Georgians. He added that Georgia should continue to fight against corruption and strengthen the rule of law and judicial independence.