The News in Brief
Friday, December 22
Georgian FM Janelidze on Georgia’s EU Integration Roadmap
(TBILISI) -- A day before the Georgian parliament holds a confidence vote for Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvil, the country’s foreign minister, Mikheil Janelidze, offered his thoughts on Tbilisi’s foreign policy priorities and and its attempts to further integrate with Europe.
“European and Euro-Atlantic integration remains Georgia’s primary foreign policy priority and one of the most important areas of focus for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” said Janelidze. (civil.ge)
Georgian Woman Detained by Russian Border Guards Near South Ossetia Contact Line
(TBILISI) -- A 55-year-old Georgian woman has been detained near the de facto border separating the Russian-occupied region of South Ossetia from the rest of Georgia.
Lali Khachirashvili was arrested by the Kremlin’s border guards close to her own property, and only a short distance from Khurvaleti, a village under separatist control and patrolled by Russia’s Armed Forces.
Neither Khachirashvili’s family or the local authorities could confirm her exact whereabouts, but most believe that she is likely being held by the South Ossetian KGB in a police station near Khurvaleti.
Russia and its separatist proxies in South Ossetia’s capital Tskhinvali consider the contact line between Georgian government-held territory and the areas under occupation to an international border.
Moscow’s border guards frequently arrest local ethnic Georgian residents for “illegal border violations” in areas where the boundaries are either poorly marked or unilaterally moved deeper into Georgia’s territory by Russian troops.
The detainees are usually released within a few days after paying a hefty fine. (agenda.ge)
(TBILISI) -- A day before the Georgian parliament holds a confidence vote for Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvil, the country’s foreign minister, Mikheil Janelidze, offered his thoughts on Tbilisi’s foreign policy priorities and and its attempts to further integrate with Europe.
“European and Euro-Atlantic integration remains Georgia’s primary foreign policy priority and one of the most important areas of focus for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” said Janelidze. (civil.ge)
Georgian Woman Detained by Russian Border Guards Near South Ossetia Contact Line
(TBILISI) -- A 55-year-old Georgian woman has been detained near the de facto border separating the Russian-occupied region of South Ossetia from the rest of Georgia.
Lali Khachirashvili was arrested by the Kremlin’s border guards close to her own property, and only a short distance from Khurvaleti, a village under separatist control and patrolled by Russia’s Armed Forces.
Neither Khachirashvili’s family or the local authorities could confirm her exact whereabouts, but most believe that she is likely being held by the South Ossetian KGB in a police station near Khurvaleti.
Russia and its separatist proxies in South Ossetia’s capital Tskhinvali consider the contact line between Georgian government-held territory and the areas under occupation to an international border.
Moscow’s border guards frequently arrest local ethnic Georgian residents for “illegal border violations” in areas where the boundaries are either poorly marked or unilaterally moved deeper into Georgia’s territory by Russian troops.
The detainees are usually released within a few days after paying a hefty fine. (agenda.ge)