The Daily Beat: 26 September
Georgia banned the re-export of specific EU-made cars to Russia and Belarus. Effective 25 September, the ban applies to vehicles with engine capacity of more than 1900ccm and electric and hybrid cars. The ban is introduced in line with the EU’s 11th sanctions package against Russia. Similar restrictions are already imposed on US-made cars as well.
President Salome Zurabishvili met with Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs in Riga and thanked Latvian colleague for steadfastly supporting Georgia’s European integration. While President Zurabishvili seemed pleased with the warm welcome in Riga, Edgars Rinkēvičs urged Georgia to join the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy, including the EU sanctions against Russia. The next stop will be in Vilnius, where Zurabishvili is scheduled to meet the Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchaiashvili is on an official visit to Brussels, apparently in a bid to brief high-ranking EU representatives on Georgia’s very recent efforts to fulfill the 12 EU conditions. In Brussels, Minister Darchaiashvili met with the Director General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), Gert Jan Koopman, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, and the Vice-President of the European Commission, Věra Jourová. According to the official press releases, during the meetings, Ilia Darchiashvili stressed the strategic importance of the EU candidacy, and updated the EU representatives on the recent legislative and institutional reforms.
The Armenian Embassy in Tbilisi dismissed the “disinformation spread in the Georgian media” about the possible intentions to resettle the ethnic Armenians fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh outside the Republic of Armenia. “The Armenian Embassy in Tbilisi rejects such fabricated fake news and condemns their dissemination and cheap speculation on this issue, especially at this difficult time for the Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian people,” – reads the Embassy statement. Fact-checking online platform “Myth Detector” revealed that the government-affiliated Facebook page “Leader 41” published disinformation about the “plans” to resettle 40,000 Armenians deported from Karabakh in the houses of Georgian citizens in occupied Abkhazia.
The chief diplomat of Russia-occupied Abkhazia, Inal Ardzinba, also reacted to the possible influx of Armenian refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, saying that Abkhazia does not expect a mass influx of Armenian refugees from Karabakh. According to Ardzinba, due to “capitulation,” the status of Nagorno-Karabakh “has been canceled,” indicating the possible implications for the wider region. “It may not have a direct impact, but to say the least, it contributes to the growth of tension in the region. We don’t want something like this to happen here,” noted a top diplomat from Russia-occupied Abkhazia.
Tbilisi State Conservatoire issued a statement, noting that the decree of Culture Minister Tea Tsulukiani scraps the procedure of electing the rector. Musicians now fear that the Minister will appoint a loyal rector, undermining the institution’s independence, and are calling for a protest rally. A few days ago, speaking before the Parliament, Minister Tsulukiani pointed to some problems at the management level of the Conservatoire and pledged to reshuffle it. It seems she is true to her word.
