Merkel visit: chancellor receives gift, sings with Georgian ensemble (VIDEO)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel sings along with the Georgian ensemble Shvidkatsa. Photo: German Chancellor Instagram page.
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Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel was treated to a display of Georgian hospitality on Thursday, with a vocal performance and a “surprising gift” offered to the high-profile visitor in Tbilisi.
Merkel, on her first official visit to Georgia in a decade, was at a dinner hosted by the Georgian government, following her meetings and visits during the day.
As a mark of honour for the chancellor, the the Georgian ensemble Shvidkatsa was at the dinner to offer a rendition of a German song.
Video courtesy of Georgian Public Broadcaster.
The German Chancellor could be seen singing along with the members of the ensemble, before she also received a notable present from Prime Minister of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze.
A 17th century painting by Baroque-era Italian artist Pierfrancesco Cittadini (1616-1681) will be returning to Germany, more than 70 years after it disappeared from a museum in Dresden.
The oil painting, titled Still Life with a Rabbit, was presented to the German politician by Bakhtadze after the Georgian government obtained the work.
It had been preserved at the Dresden museum up until 1945, when the piece was lost in the aftermath of World War II and Germany’s occupation by the Allied armies.
Finding its way to the Soviet Union, it finally ended up with a private owner in the western Georgian city of Kutaisi.
The painting was obtained from the owner by an unnamed individual, who later donated it to the Georgian government.
Merkel arrived in Georgia on Thursday to launch her trip to the South Caucasus region. She departed for Armenia on Friday before the politician is scheduled to conclude the tour in Azerbaijan on Saturday.
Angela Merkel has visited the occupation line in the village of Odzisi before leaving Georgia. Merkel spent half an hour in the village and took the opportunity to observe the territories beyond the occupation line through binoculars.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has assessed Russian illegalities against Georgia as an “occupation” after she was asked by a student attending a meeting at Tbilisi State University whether she has an issue with the word ‘occupation...as [she] does not use it in [her] assessments’.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she is happy to see much progress in Georgia since her last visit to the country 10 years ago.
After a face to face meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze and a meeting with part of te Georgian cabinet, she held a joint press conference with the Georgian PM.
The topics discussed at the meetings included the situation in Georgia’s regions occupied by Russia, the country’s European aspirations and integration and the deepening of the economic and cultural ties.
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze has been invited to the Dresden Gallery in Germany to attend the depositing ceremony of Still Life with a Hare, a 17th century painting by Pietro Francesco Cittadini, which Bakhtadze handed to German Chancellor Angela Merkel during her visit to Tbilisi in the summer of 2018.