03 May 2019, 09:37
Georgia declares border demarcation with Azerbaijan after conflict at monastery
Georgia and Azerbaijan should complete the border demarcation as soon as possible to resolve the dispute over the ownership of the "David Gareji" Monastery Complex. This was stated by Giorgi Gakhariya, Secretary of the National Security Council and the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).
Because of the unsettled issue on the Georgian-Azerbaijani issue, the countries are arguing about the "David Gareji" Monastery Complex, located 60 kilometres south-east of Tbilisi on Mount Keshikchi Dag, Georgia's one of the most important cultural and religious sights. On April 25, it became known that for several days monks and tourists could not reach the Udabno Monastery, located in the territory of the oldest Georgian cave "David Gareji" Complex, the road to which was blocked by Azerbaijani border guards.
The issue of the common border section will be solved by the end of the year, the Georgian President, Salome Zurabishvili, said on February 27. She noted that the problem of the two countries is the occupation of parts of their territories.
The dispute over the "David Gareji" Monastery Complex had flared up earlier, but it was never so tense, Mamuka Zhgenti, an expert at the Georgian Institute of European Values, has stated. He linked the ban on visiting the temple with the visit of the President of Georgia to Azerbaijan.
Shalva Natelashvili, the leader of the Labour Party of Georgia, has compared the actions of Azerbaijani border guards with the actions of Russian troops in South Ossetia, the "Haqqin" reports.
Irakli Okruashvili, a former Georgian Defence Minister (in 2005-2006), said on the Facebook that the actions of Azerbaijani border guards are insulting Christians.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 3, 2019 at 05:23 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Beslan Kmuzov, Inna Kukudjanova Source: CK correspondents
