Georgia to fulfill its commitments to return Meskhetian Turks to homeland
Georgia is ready to fulfill its obligation to return the Meskhetian Turks to their homeland, Foreign Minister Maya Panjikidze said on Thursday at a press briefing in Batumi.
According to her, the Government of Georgia has received a total of 5.000 appeals from Meskhetian Turks deported by Stalin's regime from the Georgian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti in 1944, to return home.
"Of these appeals, 900 have been satisfied, and the return of repatriates will start in the near future," she said.
According to Panjikidze, Georgia is devoted to its commitments made when joining the Council of Europe.
The Government of Georgia addressed the issue of the return of Meskhetian Turks on Thursday. After the meeting, the Deputy Minister of Justice David Jandieri reported that the problem of the Meskhetian Turks will presumably be fully resolved in the near future.
"As far as I know, Georgia made a commitment to solve this problem when joining the Council of Europe. The ministers of Justice and Foreign Affairs held a meeting, which discussed the issue. The work in underway to solve the problem, and to my knowledge, the final decision will be made in the near future," he said.