Georgia prohibits transit of military cargo amid Armenia, Azerbaijani conflict

Amid ongoing fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Georgia has suspended the transit of military cargo through its territory to either country either by land or air. No restrictions apply to transit of civilian goods and other cargo.

The National Security Council of Georgia, an eight-member advisory body responsible for national security policy planning and coordination, announced after a meeting earlier today that Tbilisi observes all of its international obligations.

It also said that that the ‘intensity of freight transport is high and it has not changed since the resumption of the armed conflict’ between the two neighbours.

The National Security Council is chaired by the prime minister. Its other members are: interior, defence, foreign and finance ministers, heads of state security and intelligence services and chief of the armed forces. Photo: Government of Georgia/Facebook

Georgian officials, including Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, who chairs the council and President Salome Zurabishvili, have called on the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and other international actors, ‘to take all necessary measures to stop the violence and resume dialogue’ between Armenia and Azerbaijan. 

Georgia enjoys good neighbourly relations with Azerbaijan and Armenia. We seek to maintain and further strengthen these relations”, the council’s statement reads.

The Georgian officials once again reaffirmed their readiness to contribute, in any form, to the de-escalation of tension, including by facilitating a dialogue and hosting a meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani officials in Tbilisi.

President Zurabishvili has tweeted: 

On behalf of the Georgian people, I send my deepest condolences for the losses that have been made in this conflict between our two friends and neighbors.

I call on the authorities in both countries to resume dialogue and to work toward deescalation and a ceasefire.

— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) October 3, 2020