Georgian FM reaffirms commitment to peace, stability in South Caucasus region

Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili on Tuesday extended her gratitude to Feridun Sinirlioğlu, the Secretary General of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, for his official visit to the country, highlighting the visit as an important message and step.

In her remarks at a joint briefing with Sinirlioğlu, Botchorishvili highlighted the significance of the OSCE for Georgia.

“I thank Feridun Sinirlioğlu for his visit to Georgia. We have already met several times this year, which once again confirms the importance of the OSCE for Georgia, and also emphasizes the readiness of the Secretary General for active cooperation, for which I would like to thank him once again”, Botchorishvili said.

“Accordingly, on the 50th anniversary of the OSCE, we firmly believe that this organisation should have the opportunity to work for European security. For this, the OSCE participating states must remain committed to international law and the principles on which this organisation is based”, she noted.

Before the briefing, during the face-to-face meeting, Botchorishvili and Sinirlioğlu discussed the current situation in the South Caucasus region and reviewed the challenges facing Georgia.

The top Georgian diplomat reviewed the situation in the Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions, where Russia continued to violate Georgia’s territorial integrity.

Botchorishvili further added that the discussion on the issue of Georgia should continue within the framework of the OSCE and everything should be done to resolve the conflict peacefully.

“We appreciate the OSCE’s involvement in the international negotiations in Geneva and also attach great importance to the effective functioning of the mechanisms for preventing and responding to incidents, therefore, we consider it necessary to unconditionally renew the Gali Mechanism. We also consider it important to ensure access to international mechanisms for security and human rights in the Russian-occupied territories”, she said.

Botchorishvili noted that Georgia wanted peace and stability in the South Caucasus region, therefore she once again emphasised the strength of the peace policy of the Georgian Government.