20:00, 14 May 2011

Vatican opens its secret archives to Georgia

Vatican has provided Georgia with access to earlier classified archives, containing historically valuable materials for the Georgian party. The negotiations on this issue between Georgia and Vatican lasted for several years.

"A few days ago, the negotiations were successfully concluded; and today Georgian scientists have access to at least 10,000 documents - earlier their content was unknown. By experts' estimates, these materials have serious historical value," said the Prime Minister of Georgia Nikoloz Gilauri.

According to preliminary data, already by the end of June a special group of Georgian scientists will go to Vatican to study the materials, the "News-Georgia" reports.

Nikoloz Rurua, the Minister of Culture, said that the materials relating Georgia had been kept in Vatican archives from the 12th century, when Georgia began receiving missionaries who had their political objectives and skilled in cartography.