Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili's visit to Yerevan has aroused double interest in the Georgian media. To begin with, the president visited Baku a short while ago, making a statement there, which did not go unnoticed in Armenia. Second, speculations were made that Justice Minister Tea Tsulukiani, who had previously said that she might resign from the post, would not be included in the delegation. However, the chief lawyer preserved the post and, therefore, was included in the delegation.
Justice minister preserves post, included in presidential delegation
Who is going to accompany President Salome Zourabichvili during her visit to Yerevan or, to be more precise, will Justice Minister Tea Tsulukiani be included in the delegation? The question aroused particular interest in the Georgian media. Shortly before, Tsulukiani said that she might resign, if the government chose not to share her position regarding an issue, which is still unknown [to the public]. The conflict was resolved and yesterday [12 March], Tea Tsulukiani to be followed by Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze hot on the heels made statements, saying that the matter had been settled. Nevertheless, many supposed that the minister might not prove to be in the presidential delegation.
However, this did not happen. Minister Tsulukiani stood beside President Salome Zourabichvili during her official meeting with Armenian President Armen Sargsyan.
Zourabichvili emphasises need in closer economic cooperation
Holding a conversation behind closed doors, the presidents made joint statements for the press. Salome Zourabichvili said that it was time the two friendly countries finally renewed work on border delimitation. However, the head of the Georgian state focused greater attention on the following issues:
"We need to secure close cooperation in the economic sphere between the two countries. We discussed many branches: This is not only tourism, which is the easiest and the simplest (achievable goals), but also new technologies, energy, and the transport infrastructure, which can make its way in Armenia's direction. There are also major plans (which we can implement) together with the EU and not only the EU."
Presidents discuss conflict regions behind closed doors
Armenian President Armen Sargsyan accepted the invitation of his Georgian counterpart and at the same time, according to the Armenian media, he did not leave out in the cold the statements, which Zourabichvili made in Baku.
"My Georgian colleague and I share the opinion that conflicts are not identical and correspondingly, ways of their solution are not identical, either. In my opinion, a solution should be found exclusively through peaceful means on the bases of international law and norms, and in the case of Artsakh [Armenian name of Azerbaijan's breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh], the right to self-_expression_," RusArmInfo Russian-Armenian news agency quoted the Armenian president.
The press release of the Georgian Presidential administration does not mention these words by the Armenian president. It focuses attention on the fact that the head of Armenian state emphasised the importance of relations between Armenia and Georgia, saying that the two countries have great potential for developing them. Salome Zourabichvili's words, which were quoted in the press release, also showed that behind closed doors, the presidents of the two countries also touched on the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh and other conflict regions:
"Georgia recognises territorial and border integrity of the countries recognised by international law. At the same time, Georgia shows readiness for settling the conflict through peaceful means."
Details of meeting with Prime Minister Pashinyan not discussed with press
It should be noted that after Salome Zourabichvili's meeting with [Armenian] Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the leaders of the two countries chose not to speak to journalists. However, the following post appeared on the Georgian President's Facebook page:
"Nikol Pashinyan and I discussed the potential of bilateral economic relations, which is going to be further increased after Georgia's signing the agreements on free trade with the EU and China. I believe that we can do better together than on a stand-alone basis."
The sides spoke about the importance of developing cultural ties and preserving the cultural heritage of each nation.
The Georgian president's visit to Armenia is to end tomorrow, on 14 March.