Patriarch of Georgia, making a compliment to Azerbaijan, and demanded two monasteries

Baku/13.02.21/Turan: On February 11, a regular meeting of the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church was held at the Patriarchate of Georgia. The presiding Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia the Second, calling Azerbaijan a friendly and partner country, demanded that Tbilisi return to the territory of Georgia two monasteries on Mount Keshikchi Dag, in the Agstafa region of Azerbaijan.

The Catholicos Ilia the Second addressed the members of the Holy Synod; he spoke about the relevance of the issues discussed and, first, raised the issue of the Chichkhituri and Udabno monasteries of the David-Gareji complex, the Georgian press reports.

The Holy Synod decreed that the Chichkhituri and Udabno monasteries are part of the historical, religious and cultural identity of the Georgian people. The main legal document establishing the state border to this day is the protocol of June 13, 1996, recognized by both countries and signed by authorized representatives of the state commissions created by the presidents of Georgia and Azerbaijan. The document clearly states that the border between states must be drawn as it was in 1938. The preferred and legitimate cartographic material defining the borderline state is a topographic map on a scale of 1: 200,000, printed in 1937-1938. All professional cartographers of Georgia with the appropriate scientific authority and competence confirm this, the resolution says.

“We call on the Georgian authorities to negotiate with our friendly and partner Azerbaijan Republic in order to restore the status quo by 2007 in relation to the Chichkhituri monastery and by 2019 in relation to the Udabno monastery, based on the principle of justice,” the Georgian confessors demand.

In an interview with Turan, Tbilisi observer Tengiz Ablotia said that the tension between Azerbaijan and Georgia over the monasteries is being brought in by the Georgian clergy, repeating the policy of the former Prime Minister Ivanishvili, thus setting the people against ex-President Saakashvili.

Azerbaijan believes that the interstate border between the two countries coincides with the administrative border between the Azerbaijan and Georgian SSRs within the Soviet Union.

Azerbaijani scientists prove the historical belonging of the cave monastery complex on Mount Keshikchi Dag to the kingdom of Caucasian Albania. This is an ancient state that arose at the end of the second and the middle of the 1st centuries B.C. in eastern Transcaucasia, which occupied part of the territory of modern Azerbaijan, Georgia and Dagestan.-0-