Georgia thanks Ireland for aid and support

THE Georgian government has used a visit by Foreign Minister Micheál Martin to officially thank Ireland for its humanitarian aid and political support following its conflict with Russia.

Mr Martin is on a two-day fact-finding mission to assess a situation which has left thousands displaced from their homes.

Irish Aid has given over €1.25 million to a number of humanitarian and educational projects, while four of the EU’s team of peace monitors are Irish.

During his visit, Mr Martin met the Prime Minister Grigol Mgaloblishvili and the Foreign Minister, Eka Tkeshelashvili and signed a double taxation agreement between the two countries.

He said Ireland hoped to step up the relationship between the two countries and he believed there was potential to develop greater trade and business ties.

Georgia, which is forging closer ties with the EU, plans to open an embassy in Dublin next year.

Georgia’s foreign minister said she believed a closer relationship with Ireland should help integration into the EU.

Mr Martin’s visit coincides with EU, UN and US-sponsored talks between the Georgians and Russians in Geneva aimed at calming the situation and allowing people to return to their homes.

Mr Martin said Ireland supported the French peace plan negotiated after the hostilities of August 7 and would support Georgia’s territorial integrity.

However, there are ongoing incidents between militia in the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions which Russia has recognised as states independent from Georgia. Russia has 4,000 troops in each region.

Georgian officials have said Abkhaz separatist fighters fired rocket-propelled grenades at a checkpoint near a Georgian village and were backed up by Russian armoured personnel carriers.

They also claimed Russian helicopter gunships fired on the village.

The Abkhaz forces said they were shelled from the Georgian side first and denied any Russians were involved. There were no casualties reported by either side.

Georgia’s foreign minister described the incident as appalling and said incidents such as these continued to happen because the European monitors are being kept out of the region by the Russians.

Mr Martin welcomed the discussions in Geneva and said Ireland knew from experience that keeping the channels of dialogue open was very important.

“We had many faltering starts but dialogue is the key,” he said.

This is the second attempt to have discussions between the sides in Geneva but observers said that at least this time the Russians and Georgians managed to meet in the same room.

The talks, which centre on the displaced people and general security arrangements, are part of the EU brokered peace deal but the Russians have not yet fulfilled the condition that they pull back to pre-conflict positions and monitors be allowed total access to the breakaway regions.