Lasha Darsalia has held a meeting with members of the Council of Europe delegation
On 14 February 2023, the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lasha Darsalia, held a meeting with the members of the Council of Europe delegation, who arrived in Georgia to prepare the 27th consolidated report of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe - "Conflict in Georgia".
The Georgian side provided the CoE delegation with information about the serious security, humanitarian and human rights situation in the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions occupied by Russia.
Discussions focused on Russia’s provocative and illegal actions in the occupied regions and across the occupation line, which further aggravate the situation on the ground.
The Georgian side drew special attention to the recent facts of human rights violations. While on the subject of the Geneva International Discussions, the sides noted the importance of this format in terms of achieving progress on the main issues of the agenda, such as the fulfillment of international obligations assumed by Russia under the Ceasefire Agreement of 12 August 2008, as well as the safe and dignified return of internally displaced persons and refugees.
The sides also emphasized the importance of resuming Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) meetings in Gali without any preconditions and the importance of smooth and regular functioning of Ergneti IPRM.
Lasha Darsalia highlighted the importance of maintaining the issues related to the occupied regions high on the international agenda, and emphasized in this context the significance of the consolidated reports of the Secretary General.
Within the framework of the visit, the Council of Europe delegation will hold meetings with the Minister of State for Reconciliation and Civil Equality; First Deputy Minister of IDPs from Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Protection; with the State Security Service and the Office of the Public Defender of Georgia. The Council of Europe delegation will also visit the occupation line.
MFA of Georgia
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During the meeting, the need to further intensify the regional potential of the transport and logistics field, where the parties have enormous potential for mutual implementation, was noted.
The head of the delegation of Turkmenistan, speaking at the forum, emphasized that the transport sector is one of the key factors of development. In this context, it was noted that Turkmenistan is promoting geopolitical and geo-economic interests necessary to ensure national development, using its advantageous geographical location and capabilities.
The participants speaking at the forum expressed the general opinion that the countries of the region are interconnected, and, in response to new features and challenges of our time, they must comprehensively deepen interaction in this direction, using the existing great potential.
As a result of the multilateral meeting, designed to become a kind of platform for strengthening the interconnectedness of transport, a Joint Communiqué was adopted, and the draft Agreement “On strengthening the interconnectedness of land transport in Central Asia” was approved.
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THE PARLIAMENT HEARD THE ACTIVITY REPORT FOR 2022 OF THE PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION TO PACE
At the plenary session, MPs heard the Activity Report for 2022 of the Parliamentary Delegation to PACE, introduced by the Head of the Delegation, Irakli Chikovani.
“One of the acute issues for the PACE and for us was the devastation in Ukraine entailed by the Russian aggression and the decision made on the exclusion of Russia from the Coe and the preparation for a new Summit that is scheduled in May 2023 and that shall be dedicated to the planning of the further steps of the organization”, - he stated.
According to him, the Georgian Delegation was one of the main Delegations that approved the exclusion of Russia at the emergency session convened by the CoE. As noted, sundry resolutions have been adopted in 2022 related to the situation in Ukraine, where the Georgian Delegation in full composition, including the Majority and the Opposition MPs, unanimously approved the documents except one resolution providing the record about the third President of Georgia.
“This Resolution was connected neither to Georgia nor the situation in Georgia or the democratic reforms; it was an attempt, which by the way was quite successfully conducted by the EPP members and the rapporteur of the Resolution”, - he noted and added that the Resolution on Georgia initiated by the Monitoring Committee and adopted by the PACE reflects the immense progress achieved by Georgia in the democracy, rule of law and human rights protection directions.
“This progress is clearly underlined and which is unambiguously confirmed by the CoE as a whole, though it also provides the challenges in Georgia being addressed by the Government”, - the reporter ended his speech.
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On 6 March 2023, the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Lasha Darsalia, held a meeting with the members of Chairman of the International and Inter-Parliamentary Relations Committee of the Milli Majlis, and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, who are on an official visit to Georgia.
Discussions focused on the importance of the strategic cooperation, including the inter-parliamentary Georgia-Turkey-Azerbaijan cooperation.
Special attention was paid to the new regional project on strategic partnership in the field of green energy development and transmission initiated by Georgia.
The parties talked about the complex security environment of the region, existing challenges and the importance of diplomatic efforts. Opportunities of the region and aspects of future cooperation were highlighted. The sides stated that they are ready to make appropriate contributions to ensuring regional peace and stability.
During the meeting, the Turkish side expressed special thanks to Georgia for the invaluable assistance provided to the Republic of Turkey after the devastating earthquake.
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On 15 February 2023, the First Deputy Minister, Lasha Darsalia met with the head of the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Georgia, Anne Montavon.
Discussions focused on issues of cooperation between Georgia and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The first deputy minister thanked the head of the delegation of the ICRC for the humanitarian efforts made by the organization in Georgia, especially for the support of the population living in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions and people affected by the Russia-Georgia conflict.
At the meeting, attention was focused on the difficult situation in terms of humanitarian and human rights on the ground, and in this context, the role and importance of active involvement of international organizations was emphasized.
At the end of the meeting, the parties confirmed their readiness to continue close cooperation. -
An urgent debate* on the legal and human rights aspects of the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine, with the participation of Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Center for Civil Liberties, 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, will be among the highlights of the Winter plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), to be held in Strasbourg from 23 to 27 January 2023.
#OnTheRoadToReykjavik, a report on the fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe, to be held in the Icelandic capital on 16 and 17 May, will present PACE's proposals.
There will also be addresses by the Prime Minister of Iceland Katrin Jakobsdóttir and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. The Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić will present her communication to PACE members. The Assembly will also elect its President and Vice-Presidents.
Combating violence against women will also be a focus of the session, with a first debate on conflict-related sexual violence, and a second joint debate on the Istanbul Convention, on the role and responsibility of men and boys in stopping gender-based violence against women and girls, and on finding solutions for marital captivity.
Other topics on the agenda include the environmental impact of armed conflict, Daesh foreign fighters and their families returning from Syria and elsewhere, and the ethical, cultural and educational challenges of contact tracing applications.
* The Assembly will decide its final agenda at the opening of the session.
