The messenger logo

The News in Brief

Tuesday, July 8
NATO’s envoy will discuss "substantive package" in Tbilisi

NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai will pay an official visit to Georgia to discuss the "substantive package” NATO will offer Georgia at the Wales Summit in September.

Appathurai will arrive in Tbilisi in two days, Georgia’s State Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integrating Alexi Petriashvili told journalists when he opened a seminar on NATO policy and agenda today.

Appathurai said in June the elements that NATO’s substantive package prepared for Georgia included, "first – the North Atlantic Alliance offers Georgia to participate in the strategic discussions; second – NATO training and education center is planned to be opened in Georgia and third - the implementation of new programs and Georgia's involvement in NATO rapid reaction forces are provided to strengthen the defense capability.”

"Georgia will [be offered] an unprecedented package. We have never given such kind of a package to any non-NATO member states,” he said.
(agenda.ge)



French Navy Frigate to Make Port Visit in Batumi

The French light stealth frigate FS Surcouf will visit Georgia’s Black Sea port of Batumi on July 8-12, according to the French embassy in Tbilisi

The port call by Surcouf is planned within the frames of French-Georgian bilateral defense cooperation, the French embassy said on Monday.

The French intelligence-gathering ship Dupuy de Lome made a port visit in Batumi in late April.

French ambassador to Georgia, Renaud Salins, will host a reception for the government members and diplomatic corps on board of the French navy frigate on July 10.
(civil.ge)



Bodies of killed soldiers to be returned

Georgian Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees, David Darakhvelidze will meet with occupied Abkhazia’s de facto government’s representatives on July 7-9 in Istanbul, Turkey.

“Bodies and remains of Georgians were transferred from the Babushera burial to Tbilisi, Georgia several days ago. After the examination they will be identified, after that bodies and remains of these Georgians will be given to their families”, David Darakhvelidze said.

According to the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons, Accommodation and Refugees, the topic of the meeting will be to speed up the process of transfer of bodies of missing Georgian heroes.
(frontnews)



Ministry of Health studying death of pregnant woman and stillborn

The Georgian Ministry of Health is studying the death of a pregnant women and her stillborn child, - the Minister of Labor, Health and Social Protection of Georgia Davit Sergeenko told reporters at ‘’Expo Georgia’’.

According to the Minister this incident is a tragedy. He offered his condolence to the family of the deceased.

“The Ministry of Health has already engaged in the investigation of the case. We engaged in the process in two hours. We will study details and present results to the public,’’ – Davit Sergeenko said.

As for the final conclusion, Davit Sergeenko said that collecting medical documentation is the first stage. The term of first-staged interviews will last for ten days and the term of expert evaluation in a month and a half. According to the Minister, the Ministry will try to do everything as quickly as possible.

27-year-old Shorena Devadze died during labor in Batumi Referral Hospital. Her child also died. There is information that the latter had died before birth.
(IPN)



Davit Usupashvili leaves for Baku

Speaker of Parliament Davit Usupashvili is paying an official visit to Baku.

Davit Usupashvili will meet with the Chairman of the Milli Mejlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan as well as leadership of the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan. At the meetings relations between the two countries and future cooperation issues will be discussed.

“We will meet with the country's leaders. During the visit, we will discuss a wide range of issues. We will discuss the economic and legal issues, as the Association Agreement signed between Georgia and the EU changes general situation, but it does not change our neighborly relations with Azerbaijan”, Davit Usupashvili said.
(frontnews)