Armenian publication accuses Georgia of land grab attempts

An Armenian publication, Hraparak, has highlighted allegations suggesting that Georgia is leveraging what it perceives as vulnerabilities within the Armenian government to pursue land claims along the shared border.

The report indicates that ongoing border disputes between the two countries are being exploited by Georgia in an attempt to solidify its territorial gains, Caliber.Az reports.

"Georgia is trying to take advantage of the 'weakness' of the Armenian authorities to resolve longstanding border disputes. A few days ago, we reported that there are rumours circulating in the political backstage that Pashinyan, during his visits to Georgia, also discussed with the authorities of that country the issue of demarcating the border between Armenia and Georgia. There are also unresolved issues in this sector. It is reported, for example, that residents of the Georgian village of Akhkerpi, entirely populated by Armenians, are being urged to write letters and appeal to the Armenian government with a proposal to transfer the Lalvar pastures and the Khuchap monastery to the administration of the Georgian village that borders with them," Hraparak writes.

Political scientist Hrant Mikayelyan, a senior researcher at the "Caucasus" Institute, corroborated these claims, asserting that Georgian authorities seek to privatize the Khuchap monastery and swiftly resolve all border disputes in their favour.

"Hrant Mikayelyan, a political scientist and senior researcher at the Caucasus Institute, confirmed the information and provided details in a conversation with us. According to him, Georgians want to privatize this church. The authorities have decided to delimit all borders and in this context resolve all disputed issues. According to the political analyst, it is not surprising that today Georgians want to tear away lands from Armenia. They are trying to take advantage of the approach of the Armenian authorities and quickly get the desired results," the publication writes.

"Today's Armenian-Georgian borders are largely influenced by the collapse of the Russian Empire and tensions in the South Caucasus. There is no information that Georgians lived in the mentioned areas, but they are trying to seize them. There is clear information that the Georgian authorities put pressure on Armenians living in these settlements and even the control of security bodies was established. The Georgian authorities have tried many times to oppress Armenians at the level of local authorities. For example, the residents of Jiliza village are completely under the control of the Georgian National Security Service," the political analyst stated.

Referring to the current state of Armenian-Georgian relations, Mikayelyan said that politically, as in two neighbouring countries, there are no obvious disagreements, but there are religious differences between the peoples.

"The Armenian community is facing systematic pressure. And I cannot say anything positive about the relations between the peoples," stated the political analyst to the publication.