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    Categories: 2023

PM Pashinyan: Armenia fully and unequivocally defends Georgia’s territorial integrity

European Interest
Nov 25 2023

On November 24, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan answered video questions of Armenian citizens. The Armenian Prime Minister stressed that Armenia fully and unequivocally supports the territorial integrity of Georgia. 

The public asked Pashinyan whether Armenia can recognise Abkhazia and South Ossetia as occupied territories.

“We fully and unequivocally defend the unity, sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence and democracy of Georgia,” the Prime Minister said.

Since August 2008, the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have been under Russian occupation. The Russian forces created two “independent republics” not recognised by the UN. 

Pashinyan underlined noticeable differences in Armenia’s UN voting preferences before and after 2019.

After its independence, Armenia aligned with Russia and joined the Russia-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The Kremlin also politically controlled the country.

However, after the 2018 Armenian Revolution, which consisted of pro-democracy, anti-government protests led by the actual PM Nikol Pasinyan, the relations between Armenia and Russia deteriorated. Since 2020, due to the developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh War and the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia has moved a significant distance from the Kremlin.

Prime Minister Pasinyan is trying to bring his country closer to the EU and Western democracies.

Armenia and Georgia are increasing their cooperation and exchange of diplomatic support internationally and bilaterally.

On 17 November 2023, Prime Minister Pashinyan received a delegation from Georgia led by the Minister of Defence, Juansher Burchuladze.

During the meeting, the Armenian PM noted that relations between Armenia and Georgia continue to develop dynamically, and the two countries cooperate in various fields. 

The Prime Minister emphasised that this is important for the Armenian government.

During the meeting, the two parts discussed issues related to cooperation and exchange of experience in security and defence, as well as regional peace and stability.


John Hovhannisian: