Patriarch Ilia II: sharp statements on Gareji harm Georgian interests
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Tuesday, August 6
Georgian Patriarch Ilia II says that making sharp statements around Georgia’s sixth-century monastery complex Davit Gareja, located at the conditional border with Azerbaijan, harm the national interests and the talks between the two countries to agree on the state border.
Ilia II states that analysis of the recent developments on Davit Gareji indicates to another force which wants to stir tension between Azerbaijan and Georgia.
“Unfortunately, this force finds support in both countries, “Ilia II says.
Patriarch stressed the importance of the ongoing talks between Georgia and Azerbaijan to agree on the border, which has not been demarked since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
He called upon the parish and the clergy to avoid provocations, to keep calm and show civic responsibility.
“When the negotiations are underway between the states. When the Church has not yet been involved in discussions, when there are many ways to interact with Azerbaijan, when it is possible to resolve the problem in a civilized way with the help of international organizations and allies, ignoring these resources and making sharp statements and actions oppose our national interests. We believe that stirring the tension should be unacceptable for Azerbaijan as well,” Ilia II says.
Archimandrite Kirion has many times accused the Georgian government of not settling the issue of Gareji.
At the end of July, he said that Azerbaijani border guards opened a tent on the territory of Gareji and did not allow the parish and clerics enter several monasteries of the complex.
The Georgian government said that the number of Georgian border guards has also been increased at the site in the wake of an incident between locals and Azerbaijani border guards on July 14.
The incident occurred after the border guards took out icons from the Udabno Monastery and handed them to their Georgian colleagues, Kirion said.
Back in April, Azerbaijani border guards closed the section of the monastery complex to clerics and tourists.
The ban was removed in several days after the involvement of officials from both sides.
Davit Gareja is a complex of 22 rock-hewn monasteries and more than 5,000 cells and cave-cells, located in Georgia’s south-east.
The commission composed of Georgian and Azerbaijani delegates to settle the border issue is due to meet between 19 and 23 August, with the involvement of experts.
