Some Georgian Territories and Monastic Complex Could Have Passed to Azerbaijan: What Happened

After several months of hiatus, the so-called "Cartographers' Case" judicial hearings have resumed in Georgia, reports Georgia Online. On June 13, three witnesses were questioned, including Zurab Gumbadze, the former Georgian ambassador to Azerbaijan. Ambassador Gumbadze stated in court that he did not participate in the mapping work.

The prosecution also plans to interrogate Georgia's former president Mikheil Saakashvili, as it does not rule out his involvement in the case.

It is worth recalling that cartographers Iveri Melashvili and Natalya Ilyicheva are accused of concealing a map from 1937-1938 during their work in the Georgian-Azerbaijani border delimitation and demarcation commission, which could have led to Georgia losing 3,500 hectares of its territory, including part of the David Gareja monastic complex.

It is also known that Georgia and Azerbaijan have been attempting to delineate this territory since gaining independence.