Some Armenian media outlets, including those critical of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government, have been reporting for several weeks on the transfer of the village of Jiliza to Georgia, situated on the Georgia-Armenia border. This topic gained traction even after the visit of Georgia's Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, to Yerevan.
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"Country News" (Yerkir.am) published an article on February 26, stating that "recently there were rumors that during high-level contacts between Armenia and Georgia, Pashinyan activated demarcation works with Georgia and ceded some territories to Georgia." This specifically refers to the surrounding areas of the village of Jiliza (Alaverdi District of Lori Province, Republic of Armenia), located on the Armenia-Georgia border.
Alaverdi TV also aired a program on this issue on March 5. According to Ankyun+3, Albert Lalayan, a resident of Jiliza village, discovered ten days ago that his house and auxiliary buildings had been relocated to Georgian territory.
"In a recent development, the Yandex search engine now indicates the location of my house in Georgian territory. Prior to February 26, my house was shown as being in Armenian territory when using Yandex. Previously, a portion of the forest was transferred to Georgia, and now it involves my house. If I remain silent, it implies my consent," Lalayan stated in the program.
His information indicates that 32 families used to reside in Jiliza village, which borders Chanakhchi village of Marneuli municipality. Presently, only three families remain.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia has not confirmed the "handover" of Jiliza to Georgia. In written communication with Yerkir.am, the agency stated that during recent contacts between high-ranking representatives of Armenia and Georgia, a consensus was reached on the need to accelerate the delimitation and demarcation works of the interstate border between Armenia and Georgia.
"The information about the process will be presented to the public in due time," stated the letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated February 20.
The governor of Jiliza village, Mher Vardanyan, stated that he only has unofficial information spread by the media.
"It was not really discussed that Georgia had such ambitions. We have been living here for years; we know our border. I don't know what will change if demarcation takes place. No one will leave their home or land. This is the territory of Armenia and will remain so," Vardanyan said in an interview with Hraparak newspaper.
On March 25, a meeting of the Prime Ministers of Georgia and Armenia took place in Yerevan. At the press conference held after the meeting, Nikol Pashinyan stated that the parties discussed the possibility of activating the border delimitation process between the two countries.
The length of Georgia's border with Armenia is 224 kilometers, part of which is not agreed upon.
