PACE co-rapporteurs visiting Tbilisi
Titus Corlatean and Claude Kern are on a fact-finding visit to Georgia between December 8 and 10. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibahsvili and Foreign Minister David Zalklaiani have met separately with co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Titus Corlatean (Romania, SOC) and Claude Kern (France, ALDE), visiting Georgia on December 8-10.
PM Garibashvili has thanked Corlatean and Kern - who are on a fact-finding visit to Georgia aimed to monitor its obligations and commitments - for supporting the country’s democratic reforms.
He also thanked the Council of Europe (CoE) for monitoring the recent municipal elections despite the ongoing pandemic and noted that the government of Georgia has ensured to hold the elections in a transparent, free and fair environment.
Photo: Georgian PM's press office
Irakli Garibashvili underscored as well that his cabinet respects the involvement of the CoE in human rights, equality and civil integration processes in Georgia, which are aimed at supporting its further democratic development.
During the meeting he spoke of the grave human humanitarian and security environment in the two Russian-occupied Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) and the role of the CoE in the peaceful resolution of the conflict as well.
PM Garibashvili has hailed the unwavering support of the CoE for Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognised borders and the importance of the consolidated reports of the Secretary General of the CoE on the conflict in Georgia as well as the resolutions in support of the country.
Welcomed PACE Co-Rapporteurs #TitusCorlățean and @claude_kern at the MFA. Discussed a wide range of issues from ????????-CoE cooperation to ongoing developments across the region. Stressed importance of the PACE support to ongoing reforms in ???????? and our country's territorial integrity. pic.twitter.com/0hK1PCLImp
— David Zalkaliani (@DZalkaliani) December 9, 2021
FM Zalkaliani, who has also met with the PACE co-rapporteurs has denounced destructive and illegal actions of the Russian Federation against Georgia including the recent military trainings near Ukraine threatening not only its security, but te security of the Black Sea region and Europe as a whole.
Visiting Tbilisi on December 8-10, Corlatean and Kern are mainly focused to discuss the recent political developments, the October 2021 local elections, the reform of the judiciary, and the issues of minorities (ethnic and religious) as well as of LGTBI people, based on the PACE announcement.
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Georgia, Titus Corlatean and Claude Kern, and head of the Council of Europe (CoE) Office in Georgia Christian Urse have welcomed the offer of the ruling Georgian Dream party to introduce a fully proportional election system with a zero per cent threshold by 2020.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is condemning the integration deal between occupied Tskhinvali and Moscow, and believes the deal promotes "creeping annexation” of Georgian territory.
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) co-rapporteurs Michael Jensen and Boris Silevich are concerned about several issues after meeting with Government officials.
This morning the pair will meet the Patriarch of Georgia, Ilia II. A meeting with the Speaker of Parliament David Usupashvili is scheduled for later today. The PACE co-rapporteurs will summarize their two-day visit in Georgia at a news conference at 7pm tonight.
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) rapporteurs Titus Corlatean (Romania, SOC) and Claude Kern (France, ALDE) have expressed their concern over the 'extremely polarised' political climate in Georgia following their visit to the country.