Georgian PM visits Azerbaijan, meets President Aliyev
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Thursday, October 10
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, who has launched his tour with neighboring countries by visiting Azerbaijan on October 9 in first foreign visit in his new capacity as PM. Meeting with President Ilham Aliyev, Gakharia said it is not an accident that he is visiting Azerbaijan.
“Of course, it is not an accident when we made a decision to carry out the first visit to Azerbaijan, as we are sure that with this visit we would again prove to our friends and enemies that there are no issues between Azerbaijan and Georgia that cannot be settled in a brotherly, friendly manner,” PM Gakharia stated.
Gakharia recalled his previous, “sincere and open conversations,” with Aliyev [before becoming the PM], which was a big experience for him.
Aliyev said that the meetings were also memorable for him and “pleasant to recall.”
“I am glad that you visited Azerbaijan first. This proves that Georgia and Azerbaijan are close allies and partners. We take Georgia as the closest friend, neighbor, and a partner. We are connected by history and geography, which have played important roles in developing our relations,” Aliyev said.
He shared the view that current Georgian-Azerbaijani relations are of international importance.
“Our cooperation in terms of petrol, gas, and transport has reached international levels,” Aliyev said.
Gakharia also said that Azerbaijan and Georgia are “the closest friends and partners,” that their partnership has exceeded the regional importance and has become “the issue of international importance,” especially in the field of economy. The Georgian PM also added that the two countries firmly support each other in international formats.
Azerbaijan was Georgia’s 3rd largest trading partner in 2018 following Turkey and Russia. Georgia’s trade turnover with Azerbaijan, according to “Geostat”stood at $ 1.1 billion in 2018.
As part of his visit to Azerbaijan, PM Gakharia will also meet with the new PM Ali Asadov and Parliament Speaker Ogtay Asadov. According to the PM's press office, Giorgi Gakharia will visit Armenia next week and Turkey by the end of October, he will also travel to Brussels “as soon as the new composition of the European Commission resumes work.”
The Georgian PM’s office has not made any comments on whether the two leaders discussed the border delimitation issues.
The Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Ilia II has sent a letter to PM Gakharia over the situation at Davit Gareja Monastery Complex located on the disputed section of the Georgian-Azerbaijani state border.
The letter dated October 1 was published on the Patriarchate’s website on October 8. It notes that due to the Azerbaijani side’s actions, since the beginning of 2019, tourists, parish and clerics have been restricted access to the Udabno and Cichkhituri churches of the Monastery Complex. The Patriarch refers to various legal documents approved during the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, saying that the Udabno and Chichkhituri churches are located on the territory of Georgia and they belong to the Georgian Orthodox Church.
Georgian Patriarch Ilia II also sent a letter to Sheik-ul-Islam Allahshuqur Pasha-zade, head of Administration of Muslims of the Caucasus, on October 4 addressing him to mediate with the ‘brotherly nation’ of Azerbaijan to ‘fairly resolve issues’ in Davit Gareja as current actions by the country [Azerbaijan] regarding two monasteries in Georgia’s 6th century monastery complex David Gareja are ‘absolutely unclear.’
David Gareji, a medieval monastic complex located about 70 kilometers southeast of Tbilisi, has been one of the major stumbling blocks in the Georgian-Azerbaijani border talks.
Lack of agreement on where the border between the two countries passes came into a sharp focus at the end of April when Azerbaijani border guards restricted access to parts of Davit Gareja Monastery Complex. Although the restrictions were soon lifted, activists and residents, as well as some nationalists rallied, claiming Georgia’s rights to the disputed section.
Georgian-Azerbaijani commission, tasked with border delimitation between the two countries, met on May 14 first and later on May 23-24 in Baku.
The tensions further escalated on May 28 and Georgian Orthodox clerics, their parish, ordinary citizens and civil rights activists held another rally.
Two-thirds of the border between Georgia and Azerbaijan have been agreed upon. One-third of the border, where Davit Gareja Monastery is located, has yet to be agreed.
On October 6, the State Border Service of Azerbaijan opened a border post on the territory adjacent to Davit Gareja Monastery Complex. The Georgian government has not commented on the issue so far.
