Georgian PM: no written or verbal agreement reached on border delimitation, including David Gareji section

No written or verbal agreement has been reached on the delimitation and demarcation of Georgia’s borders, including the David Gareji section, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said.

Speaking to journalists in Batumi on Monday, Kobakhidze described claims that an agreement had been reached as “simple lies and speculation,” saying no tangible progress had been made on the issue.

“This was a simple lie and speculation. There is no need for any particular comment on this issue. In general, I can tell you that no changes have been made over these years in terms of the delimitation and demarcation of borders. No changes have been made with regard to any country,” Kobakhidze said.

He added the Georgian government’s goal was to restart the process and achieve progress while taking the country’s national interests into account.

“Of course, our goal is to move this process forward, achieve progress, and this progress must, naturally, be achieved taking our national interests into consideration. However, I want to emphasize that no changes have been made. Accordingly, no agreement has been signed over these past years in terms of delimitation and demarcation. Everything else is simply lies and speculation, which has been very easily exposed,” he said.

Addressing the David Gareji section specifically, Kobakhidze reiterated that there had been neither a written nor a verbal agreement (with Azerbaijan), nor any tangible progress concerning the issue.

“Regarding delimitation and demarcation in general, including the David Gareji section, there has been no written or verbal agreement and there has been no tangible progress whatsoever on this matter. Therefore, once again, I will say that these are simply false claims and speculation, which have been easily exposed,” the prime minister said.