On 27 July, within his official visit to Georgia, the President of PACE, Rik Daems, held a meeting with the Georgian Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, David Zalkaliani.
The Minister provided the President with information regarding the existing dire humanitarian, security and human rights situation in the occupied regions of Georgia. He emphasized the recent illegal actions of the Russian Federation in the occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Zaza Gakheladze highlighted the importance of the international community’s strong position regarding the immediate release of Zaza Gakheladze and all other illegal detainees.
The sides highlighted the importance of the CoE Secretary General’s reports, of the decision adopted by Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on “Council of Europe and the Conflict in Georgia”, as well as of the PACE resolutions. The Georgian Foreign Minister expressed his gratitude for the CoE’s confidence building efforts and its work towards peaceful resolution of the Russia-Georgia conflict. The sides underlined the need to grant international monitoring mechanisms an access to Georgia’s occupied territories.
Zalkaliani stressed the importance of mobilizing the maximum number of international observers during the elections. The PACE reaffirmed his support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia and thanked the Minister for close cooperation and warm welcome.
