Georgia, Turkey respect religious minorities' rights
By Jamila Babayeva
The standards of protecting the rights of religious minorities are equally respected in Georgia and Turkey.
Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili made the statement at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul in Tbilisi.
"I want to re-emphasize the infrastructural projects that are implemented jointly with the Turkish side," he said. "These projects include making some gas pipelines and a railway. The Tbilisi summit gave additional impetus to these projects," he added.
Margvelashvili noted that during their talks, the sides also discussed expanding cooperation in economic, cultural and military spheres. "We stressed our common view regarding the protection of cultural heritage, as well as religious groups and their rights," he added.
President Gul in turn said everyone should have the integral right of believing in the god that he has chosen.
"Cultural heritage is a very important issue. Our countries have rich cultural heritage. Its restoration, taking care of it and its preservation is very important for all of us," he said. "The religious freedom is also important. It is an integral part of democracy."