PM says efforts underway to retrieve body of Georgian citizen from occupied region
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Georgia’s prime minister has said the body of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili, who died in the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali, will be buried on home soil.
In a statement released Sunday, Giorgi Kvirikashvili said it was a tragedy that the family could not mourn the loss of their loved one.
The Government of Georgia is sparing no effort to have the body handed to the family as soon as possible,” he said.
All our friends, the international community, are standing by our side in this process, and the role of the Patriarch and our Church is immensely important”, he added.
Georgian Patriarch Ilia II has urged his Russian counterpart Patriarch Kirill to mediate to in this process of handing over Tatunashvili’s body to Tbilisi-administered territory.
Tatunashvili and two other Georgian citizens were detained by the occupying forces on February 22 in Akhalgori, a territory currently controlled by Russians.
Tatunashvili, 35, died under unclear circumstances in Tskhinvali on February 23. The others have been released but they cannot leave the occupied territory since their identification documents have been confiscated.
Time has come to be strong, to mourn duly and lay to rest a valiant man, and then summon the strength to continue the irreversible process of building our country, one step at a time, along with the process of reconciliation with the Ossetians and the Abkhazians with even greater resolve and determination, however difficult it may sound today”, Kvirikashvili said.
Kvirikashvili said there are people on the other side of the barbed wires too, who do care about our centuries-old history of coexistence.
The United States, the European Union, many other countries and almost all international organisations have stated they are deeply concerned over the case and have urged Russia and the de-facto leadership to hand over the body and to not hinder a transparent investigation into the death.
The United States (US) mission to OSCE has issued a statement on the death of Georgian man Archil Tatunashvili and the detention of two others in Georgia’s Russian occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
The Georgian Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze has stated at a conference in Moldova that Russia’s open or silence consent to violation of human rights leads to deaths of Georgian citizens in the occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) of Georgia.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has visited the family of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili who died in the country’s Russian occupied region of Tskhinvali last week. He believes this is a huge tragedy and a very treacherous act against Georgians, Abkhazians, and Ossetians, „designed to undermine the steps we are taking”.
Georgian students living in London have gathered in front of the Russian Embassy to condemn the death of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili in Georgia’s Russian occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
People gathered at the Freedom Square in the centre of Tbilisi today to condemn death of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili in the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region. Demonstrators brought flowers and lit candles in memory of the 35-year-old, who died in the occupied region under unclear circumstances on February 23.
Eleven days have passed since the death of Georgian citizen, 35-year-old soldier Archil Tatunashvili, in unclear circumstances in the occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region.The body has not been handed over to the Tatunashvili family for burial and two other Georgian citizens Levan Kutashvili and Ioseb Pavliashvili, detained with Tatunashvili on February 22, still remain in the occupied region.
Amnesty International has issued a statement concerning the death of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili in Georgia’s Russian occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia). Twelve days have passed since the death of Tatunashvili, aged 35, in unclear circumstances in the occupied Tskhinvali region.
The co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions have expressed their concern over the death of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili under unclear circumstances in Georgia’s Russian occupied region of Tskhinvali.
Thirteen days after Tatunashvili’s death, his body has not been handed over to his family for burial and two other Georgian citizens Levan Kutashvili and Ioseb Pavliashvili, detained with Tatunashvili on February 22, still remain in the occupied region.
The President of the European Council Donald Tusk has expressed his concern over the death of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili and the detention of two others in Georgia’s Russian occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
"I urge the leadership of the Russian Federation to take joint steps and resolve this complicated situation”, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has said. This August marks the 10th anniversary since the war of 2008, which according to PM Kvirikashvili "has left a tremendous mark on the Georgian people’s minds and Georgia-Russia relations”.