The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, and the Chairman of the Committe of Ministers, Antonio Miloshoski have arrived in Georgia. Within the two-day visit, they will hold meetings with President Mikheil Saakashvili, Foreign Minister, State Minister for Reintegration Issues, Minister for Refugees and Accommodation and Chair of the Parliament. The purpose of the visit is to discuss possibilities of an expanded Council of Europe action for the protection of human rights in the areas affected by the August 2008 conflict.
The meeting in the Foreign Ministry has already been held, where Russian intervention and results of the Russian occupation have been discussed.
`We have discussed how the Council of Europe can reach out to all those people, who were affected by the war. The Council of Europe is the most important human rights machinery in the world. We should use all the instruments to protect people, because human rights should be protected around the whole world. This is the purpose of our visit`, Thorbjørn Jagland said.
`We have stressed clearly that for the Council of Europe one principle is to be underlined, it is the principle of the territorial integrity of Georgia. The second thing is that we will have to show the pragmatism and help each other to achieve our common goal. In that sense, we appreciate the efforts of the Georgian authorities. When Macedonia becomes the chair country, the Georgian issue will always be priority`, Antonio Miloshoski said.
