On May 23, the International Crisis Group (ICG) published a report covering the problems of Javakhk, entitled “Georgia: The Javakheti Region’s Integration Challenges.”

As political analyst Johnny Melikyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, the ICG report “is dedicated to Javakhk only, unlike its previous report on Georgia’s regions with both Armenian and Azerbaijani population.”

He noted that according to the report, the situation in Javakhk is more or less stable, and the region poses no immediate threat to Georgia’s territorial integrity. “ICG's experts suggest official Tbilisi to pay attention to the region's problems, particularly in social and economic fields. Another important innovation is the recommendation to ratify the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages (ECRML), which was signed, but not ratified yet, by Georgia,” Melikyan said, adding that experts emphasize the stabilizing role of Yerevan in the region.

As regards the issues not covered by the report, Melikyan noted the failure to mention the problems of Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia and in Javakhk particularly. “The problems of Armenian activists in Javakhk are not sufficiently covered, though the authors touched upon the case of Vahagn Chakhalyan, who is still kept in custody. The enhanced police presence and its influence on the internal political processes in the region was not given proper attention either,” he said.

Speaking about the reaction of the official Tbilisi, Melikyan said that Georgian authorities will apprehend it properly, because it contains facts, analysis of situation in the region and recommendations on the resolution of existing problems.