Varlam Goletiani: At a meeting held with the involvement of the EU, it has been agreed that barricades must be removed and police forces must be withdrawn

According to Varlam Goletiani, Rioni Gorge Defender, at a meeting held with the involvement of the EU, it has been agreed that barricades will be removed from Rioni Gorge, police forces will be withdrawn and protesters will return to their original location.

As Goletiani told reporters after a meeting with the EU Energy Union Dispute Settlement and Negotiation Center, first decision-makers should give consent to the terms of the above agreement and voice their position by Friday. According to Goletiani, if these conditions are met, then discussions will continue on other conditions, including the suspension of construction works in the gorge.

"We had two conditions - to remove the barricades and stop the works. It was a long meeting. Part of these conditions have been agreed. I mean taking the barricades, departure of the police force and returning our protest to the site where it was before. I also mean the monitoring of the ongoing processes in the gorge. When we move there, the public will have full information about what is happening in the gorge. We also talked about our detained our comrades. There will be a call to the prosecutor's office to release them. The issue of potential arrests is also important to us, of which we have information.

We also raised the issue that the politically motivated process should be stopped in order for the process to move to a peaceful format of dialogue. We also agreed that if these conditions are met by the next Friday, we will meet again and raise the issue of suspension of the construction works in the gorge. We are waiting for the declared answer that the barricades will be taken and the police will be withdrawn. And we must return to the original place of protest”, said Goletiani.