11:17, 11 May 2019

Georgian Patriarchy tells about situation in "David Garedja" Complex

"David Garedja" Monastery Complex. Photo: Andrzej Wójtowicz https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30058767

Azerbaijani border guards do not prevent pilgrims and tourists from visiting the "David Garedja" Monastery Complex, the Georgian Patriarchate has stated today. The commissions of the two countries have agreed to meet on the border demarcation issue.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 25, it became known that for several days, monks, pilgrims and tourists could not get to the "Udabno" Monastery, located on the territory of the oldest Georgian cave complex "David Garedja", which was blocked by Azerbaijani border guards. The conflict was resolved after negotiations at the level of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFAs) of the two countries.

The dispute over one of the most important cultural and religious landmarks of Georgia, the "David Garedja" Monastic Complex, continues because of the unresolved issue of the demarcation of the Georgian-Azerbaijani between. The issue of the common border section will be resolved by the end of the year, the Georgian President, Salome Zurabishvili, stated during her visit to Azerbaijan in February.

As a result of negotiations, the situation has stabilized, pilgrims and tourists are allowed into the Azerbaijani part of the complex, the Georgian Patriarchate has informed today. "We don't lose hope that the demarcation process will be held peacefully; and the friendship of the governments of Georgia and Azerbaijan will further strengthen," the Georgian Public Television has quoted the Patriarchate's statement on its website.

The Georgian government has approved the membership of the border demarcation commission, headed by Lasha Darsaliya, Deputy Foreign Minister, David Zalkaliani, the head of the police, has stated. According to his story, an agreement has been reached with the Azerbaijani side that for the first time the commissions will meet on May 14 or 15, 2019, the "Georgia Online" has reported.

The fact that the official negotiations of the delegations of Azerbaijan and Georgia on border demarcation will take place next week was also confirmed by Khalaf Khalafov, Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan. He has noted that two thirds of the border had already been defined earlier, the Azerbaijani edition "Report" has informed.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 10, 2019 at 11:05 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.