MFA of Georgia Ilia Darchiashvili Delivers a speech at UN General Assembly
By Liza Mchedlidze
Friday, February 24, 2023
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Ilia Darchiashvili, participated in the session of the UN General Assembly in New York, which was held in connection with the anniversary of the war in Ukraine.
In his speech, Ilia Darchiashvili condemned the war waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and noted that it is an attack on the entire international order and violates the architecture of global peace and security.
The minister noted that Russia's aggression in Ukraine resulted in severe humanitarian consequences, casualties and mass displacement of the population. According to him, restoration of peace is possible only in the conditions of strong responsibility, through the protection of the basic principles of the United Nations by the member countries of the organization.
Darchiashvili particularly noted the role of the United Nations in maintaining peace in the face of significant global challenges. On behalf of Georgia, he once again expressed his support for the 'Peace Formula' initiative, which, according to him, responds to the protection of the basic values and values of the United Nations, beyond the protection of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
"Ukraine needs peace, our countries and peoples need peace. The world needs peace. We are facing global challenges of unprecedented scale: climate change, natural disasters, terrorism. This requires our joint efforts, our cooperation. The United Nations can do a lot in this direction. We have to do this for our children, for our future generations," said Ilia Darchiashvili.
The minister noted that Georgia is in solidarity with the international efforts aimed at supporting Ukraine and emphasized the humanitarian assistance provided by Georgia to Ukraine.
Ilia Darchiashvili also spoke about Russia's occupation of Georgian regions - Abkhazia and Tskhinvali and the difficult situation in the country.
"Almost 15 years have passed since Russia's full-scale war against Georgia and the occupation of 20 percent of its territories, which grossly violates the principles of the UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act, and the Paris Charter," Darchiashvili said.
The minister emphasized the importance of joint efforts of the international community.
"Georgia remains committed to the peaceful settlement of the Russian-Georgian conflict, which depends, on the one hand, on the de-occupation of the two regions of Georgia occupied by Russia, and on the other hand, on the reconciliation and strengthening of trust between the population divided by the lines of occupation. Although Georgia is fully complying with the EU-mediated ceasefire agreement of August 12, 2008, a consolidated approach by the international community is necessary for Russia to fulfill its obligations under the ceasefire agreement and withdraw its military forces from the territory of Georgia. In this regard, Georgia is trying to use the Geneva international negotiations," Darchiashvili explained.
