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June 1997,” the Georgian company said.
“The Arbitration Tribunal supported the interpretation of the norms of the contract by Georgia and satisfied a vast majority of its claims. Along with other issues, The Arbitration Tribunal ruled that Frontera committed a material breach of the contract by refusing to return the exploration area (99% of the entire licensed area) to the State, which gives the State right to terminate the contract,” the press release issued by GOGC said.
The company also said that the tribunal upheld an appeal against the claims of Frontera and terminated the arbitration proceedings on the issues raised.
The decision of tribunal is final, GOGC stated.
The decision to initiate the dispute was made after numerous attempts by the state agency and corporation to resolve it failed. Frontera repeatedly rejected the proposal to end the dispute through mediation, the press release from GOGC added.
Frontera’s activities in Georgia have for years been dogged by controversy, including accusations that it was not paying workers, OC media said in​ a​ comment piece​ ​on the case.
9.1.2​ Transport sector news
Azerbaijan imports cars worth $95m from Georgia in first five months
A total of 8,820 cars were exported from Georgia to Azerbaijan in the first five months of this year, the National Statistics Office of Georgia announced on June 24.
Azerbaijan imports cars via Georgia as Georgian trade routes interconnect with European routes via the Black Sea, making the country a big hub for the distribution of vehicles across the South Caucasus region.
The statistics office said the value of the exported cars was $94.6mn. Compared to the first five months of 2019, the number of cars imported by Azerbaijan from its neighbour increased by 2,016 units or by 1.29 times.
Also across January to May this year, Georgia sent 425 lorries and low-loaders worth $2.9mn to the Azerbaijani market. The number of HGVs decreased by 114 year on year.
9.1.3​ Aviation sector news
The Georgian Foreign Ministry has ​turned down​ Russia’s offer to allow Georgia to carry out reconnaissance flights along the boundaries of the occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions in accordance with the Open Skies Treaty, dubbing the invitation as “cynical“ and accusing Russia of trying to exploit the agreement “for political gain.”
Russia is ready to allow observation flights relating to the Open Skies Treaty in the 10-kilometre strip “along the Caucasus border” if Georgia permits Russia to fly over its territory, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on May 26, according to RIA Novosti.
“Over the years, Russia has been systematically violating the provisions of the Treaty and politicising it. Russia has been making fruitless efforts since 2010 to use the agreement as a tool to legitimise the illegal recognition of Georgia's occupied territories,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
It reminded that Russia, in 2010, banned the observation flights in the vicinity of the occupied regions on the grounds that they were independent states not subject to the Treaty.
Georgian officials also reminded that in 2012 Tbilisi suspended the implementation of the Open Skies agreement with Russia. The Georgian side does not accept Russian flights, nor does it conduct surveillance flights on
46​ GEORGIA Country Report ​July 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com