The FINANCIAL — “All steps were taken in compliance with the applicable formal procedures. This is part of the formal process and no step, no action has been taken by the Government of Georgia in concealement” – Georgian Vice Premier, Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze said when speaking on the air of Imedi TV concerning Georgia’s request to Russia for assistance in fire control works.
Accoridng to Mikheil Janelidze, Georgia appealed to the international community for assistance in the fire liquidation process. “We mobilized all resources in the reserve to use them, where necessary. We put into action international, as well as bilateral formats to ensure that all necessary equipment is duly mobilized to respond to disaster. We appealed to the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre, the UN Office for Disaster, we also used bilateral formats. The past lessons show that after requesting international assistance it is also necessary to establish bilateral communication and send out requests for definite type of assistance and equipment” – Mikheil Janelidze said.
According to the Vice Premier, the Georgian population was informed about Russia’s possible assistance from the very beginning. In particular, the Prime Minister made a statement in this regard on 22 August followed by respective statements on 24 August. On 26 August, in response to high public interest, the Prime Minister’s Special Representative for relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze made detailed explanations about the Georgian Government’s communication with Russia.
While on the theme of sending the Note to Russia, Mikheil Janelidze once again explained the formal aspect of this procedure citing the example of Ukraine. “As far as the Note sent to Russia is concerned, yesterday, for example, Prime Minister Kvirikashvili had a telephone conversation with President Poroshenko who expressed his readiness for assistance. This verbal readiness, however, was followed by sending the respective Note to Ukraine” – the Minister said.
Mikheil Janelidze also responded to statements from the opposition describing their assessments as totally irresponsible and part of political speculation, according to MFA of Georgia.
“The opposition knew about Russia’s possible assistance as early as from 22 August. If any member of the Parliament, journalist or representative of public had any question, the Government of Georgia was and still remains open for any communication. No step, no action has been taken by the Government of Georgia in concealement, hence, there can be no additional information regarding what has already been said. Because we have already provided what has been described as a complete and exhaustive information” – the Georgian Foreign Minister said.
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