Top Georgian clerics say NATO, EU are the choice of Georgia while visiting Brussels
Georgian clerics have urged the international community from Brussels to help Georgia resolve its conflicts with Russia peacefully. Photo: Rondeli Foundation.
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A delegation of top Georgian clerics have stated in Brussels that NATO and the EU are the “firm choice” of the Georgian people and urged the international community to help Georgia peacefully settle its conflicts with Russia.
The clerics made the statements during a seminar in the European parliament yesterday, dedicated to the role of the church in the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
@Europarl_EN representatives of the Georgian Orthodox Church and other religious communities discuss the role of churches and religious communities in peace-building and conflict prevention. pic.twitter.com/dG4jyXcO6i
— Rondeli Foundation (@GFSIS_official) November 19, 2019
We will not adapt to the occupation of our territories by Russia. We will fight peacefully. We hope that our European and American partners will help us in the struggle. We know that the process [of peaceful resolution of conflicts] will take time. I participated in an armed conflict in the [currently Russian occupied] Abkhazia region and lost many of my friends there. It was not the war between Georgians and Abkhazians, it was a war between Russia and Georgia,” Archbishop Iakobi said during the seminar.
He stated that “Russia does not want to see Georgia strong and is using various methods to make the Georgian people look to Russia rather than Europe.”
Visit of the Representatives of #Georgian Orthodox Church
— Rondeli Foundation (@GFSIS_official) November 18, 2019
and other religious communities to Brussels. Meetings at @NATO HQ, @EPP HQ and the @Europarl_EN. pic.twitter.com/54D5NyFEeP
I want you to know that most Georgians consider themselves Europeans and we are striving towards Europe and not to the occupier,” he told parliamentarians.
Iakobi said that Russia-Georgia relations are frozen and urged the EU to frequently raise the issue of Russian-occupation of Georgian territories along with the occupation of Ukrainian territories by Russia.
The visit of Georgian clerics to Brussels was organised by the Rondeli Foundation.
A Holy Synod meeting earlier today has ended with the decision to dismiss Chkondidi Metropolitan Petre from the post and request the release of convicted archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze.
Archbishop Jacob, who has been one of the most influential figures in the Georgian Patriarchate, has quit the position of Patriarch Ilia II’s assistant and the chief of the Economic and Financial Council of the Patriarchate amid political turmoil around him.
Georgian Prime Minister and President, as well as the Catholicos Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II have emphasised the role of the Georgian diaspora in the maintenance of the EU-Georgia visa free deal, “one of the biggest achievements of the country,” at the diaspora forum held in Tbilisi earlier today.
High-profile clergymen of the Georgian Orthodox Church are visiting Brussels today to meet with representatives of the European Union (EU) and NATO.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said “we will help and we support Georgia on its way towards NATO membership”. Stoltenberg responded to Georgian journalist ahead of the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Brussels on Wednesday.