Georgian security service deputy head, Red Cross officials discuss conflict issues, ties
Aleksi Batiashvili, the first deputy head of the Georgian state security service, on Wednesday met with Daniel Mac Sweeney, the Red Cross incumbent envoy on missing persons in the Caucasus, and his future replacement Agnes Coutou. Photo: state security service press office
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Aleksi Batiashvili, the first deputy head of the Georgian state security service, on Wednesday discussed issues around the conflict-affected territories of the country and cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross with Daniel Mac Sweeney, the Red Cross incumbent envoy on missing persons in the Caucasus, and his future replacement Agnes Coutou.
The meeting hosted in Tbilisi stressed the “severe humanitarian situation” in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions, with the parties emphasising the need for “unrestricted access” of ICRC to the territories, the state service said.
The discussion also noted the organisation’s role in the search and identification of remains of persons missing from conflicts in Georgia. ICRC involvement has resulted in the remains of 211 missing persons from conflicts in the 1990s and the Russia-Georgia war of 2008 being successfully identified and handed over to their families to date.
Agnes Coutou (L) to replace Daniel Mac Sweeney as the Red Cross envoy on missing persons in the Caucasus. Photo: state security service press office.
The sides also highlighted the general “effective cooperation” between Georgia and the organisation and pointed to the importance of “unconditional release” of illegally arrested Georgian citizens by de facto authorities in the occupied regions.
Recent reports by the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia - the only international mission observing activities adjacent to the Russian-occupied regions - have indicated four Georgian citizens to be currently detained in Tskhinvali and two others in Sokhumi, the Abkhazian regional capital.
Natia Loladze, the President of the Georgia Red Cross Society, has been elected the Vice-President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, marking the first time a Georgian representative will serve in the position, Georgia Red Cross Society announced on Sunday.
The Georgian government has welcomed the decision of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to build a logistical hub of regional importance in Georgia, in the city of Rustavi, which will incorporate warehouses and a training center.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili held a meeting with Gilles Carbonnier, Vice-President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), earlier today in Tbilisi and thanked him and the organisation for their ‘important work’ in Georgia, in the country’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions, and along the line of occupation.
The remains of 13 individuals who went missing during the 1992-93 armed conflict in Georgia’s Russia-occupied region of Abkhazia have been laid to rest. The bodies of six servicemen and seven civilians were identified through the cooperation of Georgia’s State Ministry for Reconciliation and the International Red Cross Committee.