14 May 2019, 17:20
Analysts believe in possible compromise in Azerbaijani-Georgian dispute around David Gareja complex
The disputable monasteries on the border with Azerbaijan are Georgian monuments, state historians. Religious sites often provoke conflicts, but Georgia and Azerbaijan have every reason to agree peacefully, note culturologist Dmitri Madurov and political analyst Alexander Krylov.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in April, during several days, Azerbaijani border guards did not allow monks and tourists to enter the Udabno monastery from the territory of Georgia.
The dispute over the David Gareja monastery complex, the most important cultural and religious attraction of Georgia, continues because of the incomplete demarcation of the border between Georgia and Azerbaijan. Political analysts and historians of Azerbaijani rule out the possibility of giving up the Azerbaijani part of the monastery complex.
After the collapse of the USSR, Azerbaijan did not prevent tourists from visiting the David Gareja monastery complex, reported Musa Guliev, the director of the Keshikchidag nature reserve.
According to him, the situation became aggravated for the first time in April, when Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili visited the border zone and called for the early demarcation of the border. The monastery complex is to be open to the public by the both sides, Namazov believes.
Georgia treats the terrain where the monasteries of Udabno and Chichkhituri are located as the territories in dispute. The monasteries are located on the Georgian-Azerbaijani border.
"There is no doubt that these are Georgian monasteries: all the inscriptions in them are made in Georgian and all the frescoes are Georgian," states Giorgi Gagoshidze, the head of the research department of the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia.
Political analyst Alexander Krylov expresses his concern that the dispute over the monasteries can provoke a serious conflict between the two countries.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 14, 2019 at 02:59 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Inna Kukudjanova, Faik Medjid, Gor Alexanyan Source: CK correspondents
