Deputy Head of EU Monitoring Mission, General Janvier Meets The Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin

The Deputy Head of the EU Monitoring Mission, General Gilles Janvier, met on Friday 21 November with Micheál Martin, the Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs in the village of Mukhrani, just North of Tbilisi. Mr Martin has been on a two-day visit to Georgia, meeting representatives of the Georgian government and the opposition. He also accompanied an EUMM patrol together with the Irish team of monitors
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During the meeting, Mr Martin and General Janvier discussed the experiences of the rapid and successful deployment of the EU mission to Georgia, the constructive talks which have just taken place in Geneva and the current situation on the ground around the administrative boundary lines.

The Minister described his impressions from the patrol and from the political meetings earlier in his visit. He and the Deputy Head of Mission also talked about the situation for the internally displaced people (IDPs). Mr Martin had visited an IDP centre on Thursday, and wished to hear the EUMM's views on the prospects for the IDPs as winter approached.

During their meeting the two visited the ancient church at Mukhrani – one of the oldest in Georgia. They were accompanied to the village by the Irish Ambassador to Georgia, Mr Geoffrey Keeting, the Political Director of the Irish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Rory Montgomery, Irish EUMM monitors and representatives of the Irish and Georgian press.