
Foreign Minister Speaks of Reforms, Conflicts at CoE Sumit
Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili said while addressing the 116th Session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) on May 18 that despite significant success with reforms Georgia still has “more to do.”
He also spoke of the Abkhaz and South Ossetian conflicts and said that Georgia welcomes Russia “to exercise leadership in securing stability and democracy on its borders, as a constructive partner that subscribes to the values of the Council of Europe.”
Bezhuashvili said that “grey zones” and “violent separatism” has divided Georgia.
“Two separatist controlled regions – Abkhazia and South Ossetia – function as havens for criminal activity, grave violations of human rights, smuggling, and transnational crime,” Bezhuashvili sad.
The Foreign Minister said while speaking about ungoing reforms in the country that Georgia has made a breakthrough in fighting corruption.
“But there are areas where we still have more to do, in order to consolidate and make our reform agenda irreversible. One area of special importance is legal reform – where steps still need to be taken to ensure the independence and impartiality of our courts and legal system,” Bezhuashvili said.
“Another priority area for us is the strengthening of the capabilities of local self governance and decentralizing our democracy. The Council of Europe’s assistance and involvement with local elections, scheduled for November 2006, would be extremely valuable – and we welcome it,” he said