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NEWS
GEORGIA TODAY
MARCH 15 - 18, 2019
President Zurabishvili Pays Official Visit to Armenia BY THEA MORRISON
Image source: Georgian President’s Administration
T
he first female president of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, paid an official visit to neighboring Armenia on March 13-14 and held highrank meetings with state officials there. During the meeting with her Armenian counterpart, Armen Sarkissian, Zurabishvili noted that Georgia and Armenia have a great potential for further developing relations. She thanked her counterpart for the warm reception, stressing that this visit signifies Georgia’s expectation to further deepen relations with Armenia. As emphasized, Georgia recognizes the territorial integrity of all states within their internationally recognized borders. Also, Georgia is ready to support the peaceful resolution of the conflict. Zurabishvili spoke about the delimitation of the Georgia-Armenia state border. She also discussed Georgia’s European integration and the EU position in this process. At the joint press conference in Yerevan, Zurabishvili highlighted the vital importance of stability and peace for the region. She invited President Sarkissian to Georgia to attend the Batumi Conference marking the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership. “We are not only neighbors, but also friends. We live in a region for which stability and peace are decisive. Stability and peace are necessary preconditions for further developing our economies and our economic cooperation. We face many challenges in the region; we should realize that the only way to overcome these challenges and solve these conflicts that impede our development is a peace-
ful way that will be based on international legal norms. This is a subject for negotiations and dialogue - this is our strong belief,” she stated. The Georgian President also noted that active economic cooperation between the two countries is necessary, be it in tourism, new technologies, energy, or transport infrastructure that can be extended to Armenia. “We have a great future. We are vigorous optimists. We are going to continue to discuss a lot of issues and not just on the level of statements, but actually present our views. We both have the right
of initiative, speech and advice, and through exercising this right, we can influence not only our societies, but also executive and legislative authorities to develop relations that are all-encompassing and beneficial for the future,” she said. Sarkissian accepted his counterpart’s invitation to Georgia, highlighting that developing exceptional relations with Georgia is one of the top priorities on Armenia’s political agenda. “This is evidenced by the recent highlevel meetings and achieved agreements between Georgia and Armenia. Armenia is eager to establish, protect, and main-
tain the atmosphere of peace, security, and cooperation in the region. My Georgian colleague and I share the same view on the solutions to regional conflicts. We think that problems and conflicts and their solutions are not the same; however, I strongly believe that a solution should be found only in a peaceful way, but in accordance with international law and norms,” he said. The Armenian President also noted that his country attaches great importance to the implementation of energy and logistics projects in the South Caucasus to ensure regional security, sus-
tainability, and development. “We also attach great importance to cooperation in education, culture, and those activities that aim at cultural heritage protection. We are sure that our joint efforts in this direction will be effective,” said Sarkissian. After meeting Sarkissian, Zurabishvili had a meeting with the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan. The sides discussed key aspects of Georgia-Armenia political and economic cooperation. "Our relations should be based on common strategic interest and I am glad to receive the same response from the Georgian government. Now the time has come to bring this mutual understanding into action,” Pashinyan said. In President Zurabishvili’s view, it is important to realize the full potential of Georgia and Armenia’s further developed relations. “We can do much more together than alone; we have a lot to do,” she said. As highlighted, Georgia and Armenia have a great potential for enhancing bilateral relations; Georgia’s economic potential is better promoted after the country signed free trade agreements with the EU and China. It was noted that Armenia is Georgia’s partner in terms of tourism. Tourism traffic index between Georgia and Armenia is high. Armenia ranks 3rd in the number of visitors entering Georgia. In terms of Georgian visitors traveling to Armenia, Georgia also holds a decent place on the list. Conversation touched upon ethnic Armenians living in Georgia, their integration into the social and economic life of Georgia, and acquisition of the Georgian language. Zurabishvili and Pashinyan also discussed cultural cooperation between the two countries.
Georgian Man Found Dead in Abkhaz Interrogation Room, De-Facto Authorities Blame Suicide Continued from page 1 President Salome Zurabishvili tweeted her condolences to the young man’s family, writing “The tragic news of the sad death of a young man in the occupied #Gali District is a heartbreaking continuation of the situation in our #occupiedterritories. I share the sadness of Irakli’s family and friends and pray for their strength in this difficult moment.” Shortly after the news was released, Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani told reporters, “We received information about the alarming case yesterday from the EUMM. The reasons behind the death are being identified with the help of the Mission. Before all
causes of the incident are found, we have already taken steps to inform the international community regarding the issue.” All Georgia’s diplomatic missions worldwide were instructed to inform their host countries of Kvartskhelia’s death. At the time of his death, the young man was being held in a detention facility by de-facto Abkhaz authorities. Local residents of the Gali district told reporters that Kvaratskhelia was detained after getting into a verbal argument with occupying forces several days prior, and that he was beaten. Georgian State Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, told reporters that she is prioritizing confirming the details of
what happened before making conclusions, saying that obtaining precise and objective information on the situation was “vitally important.” Foreign Minister Zalkaliani confirmed that he has been in regular contact with the EU Special Representative to Georgia concerning the incident, along with the co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) from the OSCE and UN, but he does not yet know whether Kvaratskhelia was physically abused before his death. On March 13, the GID co-chairs from the EU, UN and EU traveled to the occupied Abkhazia region to discuss the details of Kvaratskhelia’s death with de facto Abkhaz authorities. Later that day, Kvaratskhelia’s body was transferred to his family in Tbilisi-
controlled territory. Standing at the Enguri Bridge waiting to collect his remains, the Kvaratskhelia family was accompanied by a retinue of Georgian government officials including Deputy State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality Ruslan Abashidze and officials from the State Security Service. On the morning of Thursday, March 14, an autopsy was conducted to determine the cause of death. The exam lasted approximately five hours, after which the following statement was released by medical examiner Irakli Toidze: “Pieces of rope were found inside the wounds [on the throat]. No other damage has been found. As for the damage on the throat, laboratory studies will
determine whether it was inflicted when the man was alive or whether they appeared after death.” There is currently no explanation as to where Kvaratskhelia might have gotten the rope, how long he was left alone in the interrogation room, or why there was no surveillance in the room. The Georgian autopsy report is in line with a medical examination conducted by the de-facto Abkhaz authorities before his body was transferred, who found “no traces of violence” on the body. Minister Tsikhelashvili believes there are no witness who could tell the story of what really happened to Kvaratskhelia. More information is expected to surface in the coming days.
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