No Georgian Government delegation will visit Sochi
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Georgia will be represented in Sochi only by the sporting delegation, Georgian President’s Adviser for International Affairs Ivane Matchavariani confirmed following Russian media reports that a meeting between the President of Georgia and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi was possible.
Matchavariani clarified Georgian Government officials would not go to Sochi.
"Georgia will be represented in Sochi only by the sporting delegation and the Olympic Committee that will participate in the events organized by the International Olympic Committee. We do not consider it reasonable to make any additional comments on the statements made by Putin’s press secretary”, Matchavariani said.
Furthermore, he stressed that information about a possible meeting between Margvelashvili and Putin was spread by Russian media but said this did not change the Georgian Government’s position about not attending Sochi.
"Our position is clear. A Georgian official delegation is not going to participate in Sochi Olympics in any format. The President has a very specific position on this issue. We wish success to our athletes who have travelled to Sochi to participate in the Winter Olympic Games,” Matchavariani said.
At the Olympic village, the red and white Georgian flag was raised while the country’s national anthem played.
Earlier today Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili released an official statement to Olympians and said it was a "great honour" to participate in an Olympic Games.
Georgia’s Special Representative for Relations with Russia announced South Ossetia’s de-facto leader was not officially invited to the Sochi Winter Olympic Games.
The Georgian luger who died in a tragic accident at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games will be honoured at the Sochi Olympic competition.
Sport and politics need to be separated, and if this happens, Georgia will participate and enjoy a successful Olympic Games, says Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.
A Georgian-born alpine skier has had her place of birth deleted from the official website of the Sochi Olympics in Russian and English languages.
Russian businessman of Georgian origin Aleksandre Ebralidze was reportedly arrested yesterday for embezzlement in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Russian news agency Ria Novosti reported that Ebralidze’s arrest is connected to the loss of about three billion rubles in 2016 from Russia’s Constance Bank, formerly owned by Ebralidze.