Georgian president proposes moment of silence for Ukraine before first annual address

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili on Friday proposed a moment of silence for victims of the violence in the Ukrainian capital this week before starting his first annual address to the lawmakers of his country. Condemning the violence in Kiev earlier, the president said that before talking to the legislature about important issues concerning Georgia, he would like to express concern over the grave situation in Ukraine. Diplomats, observers from international institutions and representatives from various religious groups are attending the presidential address in Kutaisi, where the Georgian parliament moved to in 2012. Parliamentary disputes and then crowds of protesters made Georgia's former president, Mikheil Saakashvili, to change the venue for his 2013 and last annual address from the parliament in Kutaisi to the national library in Tbilisi and then to his presidential palace. The parliament has made consultation among majority and minority factions before parliament speaker Davit Usupashvili announced Friday's presidential address schedule.