Monday, July 15 2019 19:13

ArmInfo. Relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia are experiencing another round of crisis due to the David-Gareja monastery complex.

Thus, today the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs made a report,  in which, in particular, it was reported that an incident had  occurred in the David-Gareja section, on the border of Georgia with  Azerbaijan, between local residents and Azerbaijani border guards.  "We call on society, civilian groups to allow border delimitation  commissions to continue working in a relaxed atmosphere so that  agreement can be reached in time",  it was noted in the message of  the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

However, according to the tour guide, who works in David-Gareja, the  cause of the conflict between local residents and Azerbaijani border  guards was that the Azerbaijani border guards carried the icons out  of the church without having received permission from representatives  of the Georgian church.

In connection with this incident, the Georgian Ambassador to  Azerbaijan was summoned to the office for clarification. "On July 14,  a group of people from Georgia, violating the state border in the  direction of the Republic of Azerbaijan, attacked the border guard  serving the Keshikchidag complex and began to insult them. 

"We note with regret that the permission of such actions contradicts  the spirit of the strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and  Georgia: We regard this as a provocation aimed at a conflict between  the two countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan  demands that the opposite side investigate the incident, take  corresponding measures and inform the Foreign Ministry about the work  done, "the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.

It should be noted that due to the unresolved issue of the  demarcation of the border between Georgia and Azerbaijan, there is a  dispute over one of the most important cultural and religious centers  of Georgia - the David Gareja monastery complex, located 60  kilometers south-east of Tbilisi on Keshikchidag mountain. The  conflict heat up in April this year, when the Azerbaijani border  guards closed the entrance to the complex for church servants,  believers and tourists for ten days. After that, local residents held  protests for several days. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili,  during her visit to Azerbaijan on February 27, assured that the issue  of the common border will be resolved by the end of the year. In May  of this year, the first meeting of the commission on demarcation of  the border in Baku has already been held, the next is planned to be  held soon in Tbilisi. It should be also noted that Azerbaijan denies  the existence of a territorial dispute with Georgia.