US Ambassador: Georgia and the US jointly fight terrorism
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The United States (US) Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly says Georgia and his country stand together in the global fight against terrorism.
The American official commented yesterday following Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s allegations that a terrorism threat existed in Georgia’s eastern, Muslim-populated Pankisi Gorge.
Kelly stressed he "absolutely trusted” the words of Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikahsvili that no such threats came from the area.
I can say that Georgia and the US are jointly opposing terrorism threats. We have listened to the statements made in Moscow. In response to the assertions I would repeat the Georgian PM’s words when he said that Georgia utterly controls the situation in the Gorge and the US unconditionally supports Georgia in this direction,” Kelly said.
United States Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly (R) says no terrorism threat is coming from Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge. Photo by the United States' Embassy to Georgia.
Two days ago during a press conference in Moscow, Lavrov said there were reports fighters from the radical Islamic group Islamic State (IS) trained in the Pankisi Gorge.
PM Kvirikashvili immediately dismissed the speculations and said "no threats were coming from the Gorge”.
The Georgian Government exerts full control of the area. Currently several dozen people from Pankisi are fighting with IS but there is strict control over their return and they will face prison if they come back,” the Georgian official said.
The same was repeated by Georgia’s Defence Minister Tinatin Khidasheli. She stressed there was "absolute peace in the Gorge with no sign of alleged unrest” and highlighted the Georgian Government fully controlled the situation in all parts of the country, including the Pankisi Gorge.
The Pankisi Gorge is mainly inhabited by Kists; people who came from the North Caucasus Dagestan Republic, currently under Russian control.
At present there are about 8,000 Kists in Pankisi Gorge who mainly live in Duisi, Jokolo, Birkiani, Jibakhevi, Tsalakhani and Omalo villages.
Together with the Kists the Gorge is populated by ethnic Georgians from the mountainous regions.
Youth living in the Pankisi Gorge, a challenging region of Georgia, will be able to develop their photography skills with help from one of the country’s leading photographers.
The President Adviser in ethnical minority issues has visited the Pankisi Gorge, a valley mainly inhabited by the Kist sub-ethnos in northeastern Georgia that bordered the Chechnyan republic of the Russian Federation today.
Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili today met with members of the Council of Elders of the Pankisi Gorge, a valley in northeastern Georgia that bordered the Chechnyan republic of the Russian Federation, today.
Georgian citizens will be sent to prison if they join or train with illegal military groups abroad, officials say.
The situation in Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge is "absolutely calm” and nothing is happening there to be concerned about, Georgian security officials say.
The 2017 Budget of the United States, released by President Barack Obama today, includes funding for Georgia and other countries "most targeted by Russian aggression”.
A young Georgian man has pled guilty to spreading a message online that incited violence and contained a threat of terrorism, and could now face a prison sentence of six to 11 years.
Seven people have been arrested and charged with attempting to carry out terror-related crimes in Georgia. Georgia’s State Security Service (SSS) has prevented a terror attack in Georgia, which aimed to set off five explosions along a Russia-Armenia gas pipeline that passed through Georgian soil.