Davit Gareji is Georgian land and if there was illegal alienation of territories, it is crime against nation. Such a statement released the Georgian Patriarchate/

“We have always been saying and still do so that Davit Gareji is a Georgian land. If there was an illegal alienation of territories, it is a crime against the nation and the country.

On September 23, 2020, the Minister of Defense met with the Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II and the priests at the Patriarchate. Irakli Gharibashvili presented cartographic material obtained by Davit Khidasheli and the reports prepared by the relevant experts.

As you know, during the last two years, due to the strained relations linked to Davit Gareji, the Catholicos-Patriarch made a number of statements, addressed the spiritual leader of Azerbaijan, and asked the Government to take effective steps so that our most important spiritual-cultural centre would not be questioned by anyone. Therefore, naturally, we also received copies of the obtained maps. Today, raising this issue before the elections has nothing to do with the church”, - reads the statement.