Teimuraz Kupatadze: Situation in Davit Gareji remains calm, pilgrims and tourists can move freely in the coming days

20:44, 15.07.2019

A meeting between Georgian and Azeri sides has been held in connection with the incident that took place at Davit Gareji monastery complex.

After the meeting, Teimuraz Kupatadze, deputy head of the Border Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia told journalists that all restrictions will be lifted on that section of the border within the next week and pilgrims and citizens will be able to move again on this section of the territory freely.

“The situation in Davit Gareji remains calm, in the coming days, pilgrims and tourists can move freely there” – He said.

Teimuraz Kupatadze also spoke about yesterday’s incident. According to him, local residents verbally insulted Azerbaijani border guards, the incident led to the confrontation. The situation was defused after the timely intervention of the Georgian border guards.

In addition, according to Kupatadze, Azerbaijani border guards said at the meeting that they took the icons from the monastery due to bad weather conditions, as they might have been damaged.

The meeting between Georgian and Azeri sides took place in Davit Gareji today. MIA reported that a minor incident took place between the local and Azerbaijani border guards on the Davit Gareji section of the Georgia-Azerbaijan border. However, the tension has been defused on time and the situation on the ground remains calm. In addition, according to the MIA, the study into the incident is currently underway.

The video was spread on the social network yesterday, which tells about an incident that took place between border guards and locals at the border area in Davit Gareji. According to the guide, who works at the site, the cause of the conflict was the fact that Azerbaijani border guards took icons from the church without permission. This caused a protest of the locals. However, as he notes, the issue was soon resolved.