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The News in Brief

Tuesday, July 7
Georgian President visits Lithuania

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is paying an official visit to Lithuania, where he will attend events dedicated to the Millennium of the Name of Lithuania.

The celebrations of the Millennium will open with the Flag Hoisting Ceremony at Daukanto Square and an address by the President of the Republic of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus, after which the honoured guests will attend Mass at Vilnius Cathedral.

Saakashvili will meet President-elect of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskait and the Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament. Meeting the President of Finland is also on the agenda.

Lithuanians residing in Georgia have already celebrated the event. Members of the Lithuanian Diaspora assembled in the Vilnius Square a day before. The ceremony opened with the national anthem of Lithuania.
(Interpressnews)



Kopitnari Airport to receive international flights

The Kopitnari International Airport is preparing for international flights. Negotiations with various international air companies are underway. Rehabilitation works on its 2,500-metre runway, which was bombed during the Russian aggression last August, continue.

The interior of the airport building and its equipment have been completely changed. The airport will have a new control tower too. The airport administration say they will make flights to Minsk, Kiev, Athens and Salonika when the reconstruction is over.
(Rustavi 2)



NATO to launch a public debate on the Strategic Concept

NATO will formally launch the process which will produce the new strategic concept of the Alliance at a major security conference in Brussels. The conference – taking place under the authority of the NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer - will also mark the beginning of a dialogue with the wider public. The discussion coincides with the meeting of the Russian and US Presidents in Moscow.

The event, to be held at the Palais d’Egmont in Brussels on the 7th July 2009, will be attended by NATO Secretary General designate Anders Fogh Rasmussen and will bring together a broad range of representatives from allied and partner Governments, NATO structures, international organisations, civil society, Parliaments, the corporate sector, NGOs, think tanks, academics and the media.
(Rustavi 2)



Russian deserter’s mother to come to Tbilisi

The mother of the soldier who deserted from the Russian Army and applied to the Georgian Government for political asylum arrived in Tbilisi yesterday. Dimitry Artemiev, 18, escaped from the Russian military base in the occupied village of Perevi, in the Sachkhere district, last week. The soldier complained about unbearable condition in the Army.

Though Artemiev had a further five months to serve in the occupied region he decided to escape like another Russian soldier who now lives in Georgia as a refugee.
(Rustavi 2)



Russian Church delegation to visit Georgia

A Russian Orthodox Church delegation is visiting Georgia. Interpressnews was informed by IDS Borjomi Georgia that the delegation is from the eparchate of Kostromi and Galichi and is led by Archbishop Alexander. The delegation has met the Georgian Catholicos-Patriarch and also visited Bodbe and Sighnaghi.

Today the Archbishop will go to Borjomi to see the Borjomi mineral water factories and bore-holes, the Romanov Palace and the monasteries of Sadgery and Timote. A visit to Georgia’s ancient capital Mtskheta is also planned.

Archbishop Serafime (Djodjua) of Borjomi and Bakuriani and representatives of IDS Borjomi Georgia are hosting Archbishop Alexander. Deepening relations between the eparchates is the main purpose of the visit. The delegation will remain in Georgia until 8 July.
(Interpressnews)