MFA of Georgia Ilia Darchiashvili Meets with Foreign Minister of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani
By Liza Mchedlidze
Tuesday, April 11, 2023
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Ilia Darchiashvili met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani.
The Minister of North Macedonia stated at a joint briefing with Ilia Darchiashvili that the OSCE listens to the concerns and worries of the people who suffered during the conflicts.
According to Osmani, in the context of Georgia, the OSCE team is actively working with IDPs, young people, and people who live in isolation.
"We must seek ways of reconciliation wherever possible. Tomorrow I will visit the regions to listen to the parties, to see the challenges. Focusing on people is our ultimate priority. I will meet with representatives of NGOs and discuss issues that are very important.
I would like to emphasize the important role played by the civil society, the strong contribution it made to the construction of democracy in Georgia. A strong civil society is a key democratic ingredient. Engagement with civil society and youth is important and emphasized by the OSCE Special Representative on Civil Society and Youth Affairs.
Within the framework of my visit, I would like to assure you that the OSCE will provide significant support for the fulfillment of obligations in three directions, which will contribute to the process of your internal reforms. Let me assure you that my goal as the OSCE chairman country is to strengthen cooperation, to support peace and stability in this difficult period," Osmani said.
The Minister of the Foreign Affairs of Georgia stated at a joint briefing with Bujar Osmani that Georgia will continue to support the priorities set by the chairing country.
"We highly appreciate the readiness of North Macedonia to facilitate the settlement of the existing conflicts and to keep these issues at a very high level on the agenda of the OSCE chairmanship. I would like to thank North Macedonia for supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia, both in the direction of the existing mechanisms within the OSCE organization and outside the organization.
Also, your support for the non-recognition policy is important. During the meeting, we talked about the 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict, the consequences caused by the conflict, the difficult situation in terms of humanitarian, social and human rights. I had the opportunity to share our visions and opinions with my colleague.
Also, we talked about the ceasefire agreement of August 12, 2008, which I think is one of the main issues when it comes to conflict resolution. Another round of Geneva negotiations was held recently. I would like to take this opportunity to express my special thanks to the OSCE for supporting this very important process.
Also, I had the opportunity to share with my colleague the peace policy of our country, the policy that our country implements in the direction of the occupied territories, which was one of the issues we discussed at our meeting. It is important that Minister Osmani will visit the occupation line tomorrow, he will visit the refugee settlement, and for that I would like to express my special thanks. He will have the opportunity to see the situation on the ground himself," Darchiashvili stated.
