The Chairman of Georgia’s Parliamentary Defence and Security Committee and a member of the parliament’s temporary investigative commission, Aleksandre Tabatadze, told journalists after leaving the prosecutor’s office that “when it comes to the occupation line, every step must be coordinated.”

He stated that the opening of a checkpoint in Chorchana “was not properly agreed upon, resulting in negative consequences.”

“In 2019, I served as Deputy Head of the State Security Service. When discussions about the Chorchana checkpoint were taking place, I was aware of the developments surrounding it. This was the reason and purpose for my testimony to the prosecutor’s office,” Tabatadze noted.

According to Tabatadze, the State Security Service determines security policy both along the occupation line and in occupied territories and adjacent areas.

“We received a very poor result from the Chorchana checkpoint. There are 100 hectares of forest – one million square metres – and several residents of Khashuri who now remain beyond the occupation line. Moreover, the Georgian side established one checkpoint, while the opposing side set up five checkpoints and one mobile post. This is what we got, and this is our reality,” he said.

Tabatadze emphasised that every stage involving the occupation line “must be coordinated step by step, with appropriate arguments presented and implemented accordingly.”

“I learned after meetings were held with the head of the State Security Service that we saw the situation becoming tense. The separatist regime notified international organisations several times. There was information that heavy equipment was deployed, and so on. After this, the security service became involved from a de-escalation perspective. This was real information. It is a factual reality that local residents who previously had access can no longer enter there,” Tabatadze stated.

Georgia’s prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the opening of the checkpoint in Chorchana village. As part of the investigation, former Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri was questioned at the prosecutor’s office on 14 June. Kakhi Kakhishvili, who served as head of the government administration during Mamuka Bakhtadze’s tenure as Prime Minister, also appeared at the prosecutor’s office today.