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IN TBILISI A COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUE WAS UNVEILED AT THE BUILDING OF THE FIRST DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION OF LITHUANIA IN THE CAUCASUS

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis, paying a visit to Georgia as a Chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), on March 16 unveiled a commemorative plaque dedicated to the first diplomatic representation of Lithuania in the Caucasus. The plaque was opened at the building in Tbilisi, where Lithuanian diplomats had worked from 1918 to 1921.

In 1918 the chairman of the Committee of Lithuanians in the Caucasus, teacher of mathematics in 4th Gymnasium of Tbilisi Pranas Dailide was accredited Representative of Lithuania to the Georgian Government. The main task of the representation at that time after the World War I was help to Lithuanians scattered by war, their registration and care for their return home.

"A difficult period after the World War I  is still not well researched, so I am glad that today we fill one of those blank pages linked to relations between our countries in those years. I hope that this historical connection will bring Lithuanian and Georgian people closer together," said A.Ažubalis.

Representation of Lithuania in the Caucasus was officially accredited in Georgia on 30 August 1918, and closed in 1921, when the Democratic Republic of Georgia, recognized by more than 20 countries, was invaded by the Bolsheviks.

"The representation worked in very difficult conditions: bad communications with Lithuania, lack of money for essential things. Despite this, according to estimates, staff of the representation helped several thousands of compatriots to return home," Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs stated.

The building of representation is in the center of the city near the train station and has not changed, it is still inhabited. Its address: Tbilisi, Mardzhanashvili st. (formerly Kirochnaya) 45.


The ceremony was attended by heads of the National Archives of Georgia and leaders of Tbilisi, members of the Lithuanian community.