Georgia, Ukraine agree to mutually address “joint challenges”
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"The Georgian people stand by the Ukrainian people” – this was the main message from Georgia’s Parliament Speaker to his Ukrainian counterpart during their meeting in Kiev on Monday.
Georgia’s David Usupashvili, who is leading the Georgian Parliamentary delegation to Kiev, met Ukraine’s Volodymyr Groysman yesterday before the two officials spoke for media.
"The Georgian people stand by the Ukrainian people, the Georgian Parliament stands by the Ukrainian Parliament and the Georgian Government stands by the Ukrainian government,” Usupashvili said.
"We should tackle aggression together, we should restore territorial integrity of our countries together and we should continue moving towards free Europe together. In Georgia this stance is shared by all the influential political forces.”
The two officials from neighbouring countries discussed ways to intensify parliamentary cooperation as a way to address their "joint challenges”.
"Our relations are very friendly. We are facing the same challenges. That unites us,” Groysman said.
"We are ready to cooperate, to deepen our relations, to coordinate our actions in the international arena.”
The Georgian side proposed the idea to establish an annual conference of lawmakers from Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, with participation of European counterparts. Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine each signed an Association Agreement – an important document that brings them closer to the European Union (EU) – in June 2014.
"We will create the arena for the countries having joint problems to jointly work on the issues of European integration and search for answers to the challenges,” Groysman said regarding the trilateral conference.
Later today, Usupashvili will meet Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. The pair are expected to discuss regional security issues.
After this meeting, the Georgian delegation, which includes chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee for Foreign Affairs Georgian Dream (GD) Member of Parliament (MP) Tedo Japaridze, chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee for European Integration GD MP Tina Khidasheli and opposition United National Movement (UNM) MP Giorgi Vashadze, will return home.
Deepening political relations between Georgia and Ukraine will be the main topic of discussion during the Georgian Parliamentary delegation’s upcoming visit to Kiev.
Another Georgian fighter has been killed while fighting alongside Ukrainian soldiers to defend Ukraine's land.
One Georgian fighter has been killed and three others have been wounded following shelling between the Ukrainian Army and pro-Russian separatists near Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, say Georgian soldiers who voluntarily fight alongside the Ukrainian troops.
Georgian Aleksandre Grigolashvili, 32, who was killed in Ukraine while fighting against pro-Russian rebels, will be transported to Georgia and buried in his hometown Kutaisi on Sunday. All expenses will be covered by the Georgian Government.
Georgia’s Minister of Healthcare David Sergeenko had a fruitful meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Aleksandre Kvitashvili yesterday, who was formerly a Georgian Health Minister.
The Georgian and Ukrainian National Guards have agreed on cooperation, Ukrainian officials say. Through this cooperation, the sides will exchange experiences, stated the website of the National Guard of Ukraine (NGU).
Ukrainian servicemen wounded during anti-terrorist operations in Donetsk and Lugansk regions of eastern Ukraine are undergoing medical assistance and treatment at Georgia’s Tserovani Rehabilitation Centre.
Georgia supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine within its internationally-recognized borders and condemns the so-called referendum conducted in Crimea four years ago, Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released today on the fourth anniversary of the annexation of the Crimea.