Georgian PM: investigation into Azerbaijan-Georgia border case will never affect strategic partnership

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has responded to the ongoing investigation into the Azerbaijan-Georgia border case earlier today. Photo: Prime Minister’s press office.

Agenda.ge, 08 Oct 2020 - 12:41, Tbilisi,Georgia

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has stated that the ongoing investigation into the Azerbaijan-Georgia border case will never affect the strategic partnership and friendly relations between the two countries, urging politicians to refrain from politicising the issue. 

Two Georgian officials, former members of the state commission working on the demarcation of Georgia’s state border with Azerbaijan, were indicted and detained yesterday for hiding a map which resulted in the concession of 3,500 ha of Georgian lands to Azerbaijan between 1996 and 2007. 

Gakharia says that final conclusions must be made only once the investigation is over. 

As you see there are continued attempts (by opposition politicians) to politicise the issue, which is absolutely unacceptable. Everyone must understand that conclusions must be made once the investigation is over. The issue is so important that political speculations may affect the state interests. Azerbaijan is a strategic partner of Georgia and the partnership will continue,” Gakharia said. 

He stated that neither the launch of the investigation ‘which is completely an internal issue of Georgia’, nor the new circumstances revealed by the investigation ‘which have already been shared with our Azerbaijani colleagues’ will affect the strategic partnership between the two states. 

Georgia has already sent the recently surfaced maps to Azerbaijan. 

Georgian FM David Zalkaliani says that the government will try to review the  preliminary agreements on the border with Azerbaijan made in 2006-2007.