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BRIEFING BY FOREIGN MINISTRY ON WIKILEAKS AND ON NEW VISA REGIME WITH BRAZIL
By Ernest Petrosyan
The Messenger
Sept 6 2011
Georgia
At her regular Monday briefing on September 5, Deputy Foreign Minister
Nino Kalandadze denied information published by Wikileaks that Georgia
continues to provide airspace for Russian Federation military cargo
transportation to Armenia.
Wikileaks published another dispatch of US Ambassador to Georgia
John Bass to the Department of State, where Bass allegedly says that
"Tbilisi continues operating airspace for Russian military cargos
for Armenia". "This information is not correct", Kalandadze said.
According to Kalandadze, the Russian Federation applied several times
to the Georgian authorities asking for the opening of airspace,
but the Georgian side has rejected such demands. The last request
was made by the Russian Federation at the end of 2008, according to
the Deputy Minister.
"Information from WikiLeaks should be treated cautiously, since we
do not know if it is reliable or not. Nevertheless the fact itself
is not true. Russia applied to us several times with a request to
open our airspace but we rejected it, " Kalandadze said.
Political analyst Ramaz Sakvarelidze also expressed doubt regarding the
reliability of Wikileaks information. "I do not think that Georgia is
continuing to provide its airspace for military cargo transportation
covertly. Besides, even if Bass had told such in his notes, there is
not any source mentioned, thus such information cannot be seriously
regarded", Sakvarelidze told The Messenger.
At the briefing, Kalandadze stated that Georgia does not consider the
participation of Karabakh's delegation with the status of observer in
Abkhazia's so-called Presidential election as the official position
of Yerevan. She added that the official Yerevan supports Georgian
territorial integrity and sovereignty, and does not recognize the
independence of Abkhazia or South Ossetia breakaway regions.
"The Georgian Foreign Ministry expresses an interest in all the issues
related to the illegal processes taking place in Georgia [breakaway
regions]. Yerevan's position is clear to us and the official Yerevan
does not recognize the breakaway regions or any elections held there",
stated Kalandadze at the briefing.
Kalandadze's statement referred to the attendance of a Nagorno-Karabakh
delegation headed by Bako Saakyan, the so-called President of the
self-recognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, during Abkhazia's
presidential elections held on August 26.
Kalandadze also mentioned the hotel belonging to the former Georgian
Embassy in Moscow. According to her it was confiscated in 2006 and
will be auctioned off by the Russian Government. "It is an issue
between states, and according to the Vienna Convention, we sent the
first diplomatic note demanding the return of the building on July 26.
The Russian side, however, did not respond, but later declared that at
the end of August the building was going to be put up for auction. We
assert that this is not only an illegal action, but is a violation
of the Vienna Convention", said Kalandadze at the briefing.
According to Kalandadze the issue is not only a dispute between
private entities but must be solved by diplomatic means. Georgia
exchanges communications with Russia through the assistance of the
Embassy of Switzerland.
Deputy Minister Kalandadze announced some positive news regarding
visa-free entry between Brazil and Georgia. Kalandadze stated that
an agreement has been signed during the official visit of Georgian
Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze in Brazil. As she explained Brazilian
citizens have been offered one-year free visa entry to Georgia,
and now Brazil has also decided to facilitate the visa regime of
Georgia citizens. The visa-free regime will be launched in a month,
after the procedures are completed.
By Ernest Petrosyan
The Messenger
Sept 6 2011
Georgia
At her regular Monday briefing on September 5, Deputy Foreign Minister
Nino Kalandadze denied information published by Wikileaks that Georgia
continues to provide airspace for Russian Federation military cargo
transportation to Armenia.
Wikileaks published another dispatch of US Ambassador to Georgia
John Bass to the Department of State, where Bass allegedly says that
"Tbilisi continues operating airspace for Russian military cargos
for Armenia". "This information is not correct", Kalandadze said.
According to Kalandadze, the Russian Federation applied several times
to the Georgian authorities asking for the opening of airspace,
but the Georgian side has rejected such demands. The last request
was made by the Russian Federation at the end of 2008, according to
the Deputy Minister.
"Information from WikiLeaks should be treated cautiously, since we
do not know if it is reliable or not. Nevertheless the fact itself
is not true. Russia applied to us several times with a request to
open our airspace but we rejected it, " Kalandadze said.
Political analyst Ramaz Sakvarelidze also expressed doubt regarding the
reliability of Wikileaks information. "I do not think that Georgia is
continuing to provide its airspace for military cargo transportation
covertly. Besides, even if Bass had told such in his notes, there is
not any source mentioned, thus such information cannot be seriously
regarded", Sakvarelidze told The Messenger.
At the briefing, Kalandadze stated that Georgia does not consider the
participation of Karabakh's delegation with the status of observer in
Abkhazia's so-called Presidential election as the official position
of Yerevan. She added that the official Yerevan supports Georgian
territorial integrity and sovereignty, and does not recognize the
independence of Abkhazia or South Ossetia breakaway regions.
"The Georgian Foreign Ministry expresses an interest in all the issues
related to the illegal processes taking place in Georgia [breakaway
regions]. Yerevan's position is clear to us and the official Yerevan
does not recognize the breakaway regions or any elections held there",
stated Kalandadze at the briefing.
Kalandadze's statement referred to the attendance of a Nagorno-Karabakh
delegation headed by Bako Saakyan, the so-called President of the
self-recognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, during Abkhazia's
presidential elections held on August 26.
Kalandadze also mentioned the hotel belonging to the former Georgian
Embassy in Moscow. According to her it was confiscated in 2006 and
will be auctioned off by the Russian Government. "It is an issue
between states, and according to the Vienna Convention, we sent the
first diplomatic note demanding the return of the building on July 26.
The Russian side, however, did not respond, but later declared that at
the end of August the building was going to be put up for auction. We
assert that this is not only an illegal action, but is a violation
of the Vienna Convention", said Kalandadze at the briefing.
According to Kalandadze the issue is not only a dispute between
private entities but must be solved by diplomatic means. Georgia
exchanges communications with Russia through the assistance of the
Embassy of Switzerland.
Deputy Minister Kalandadze announced some positive news regarding
visa-free entry between Brazil and Georgia. Kalandadze stated that
an agreement has been signed during the official visit of Georgian
Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze in Brazil. As she explained Brazilian
citizens have been offered one-year free visa entry to Georgia,
and now Brazil has also decided to facilitate the visa regime of
Georgia citizens. The visa-free regime will be launched in a month,
after the procedures are completed.