Georgian Prime Minister Attends European Political Community Summit in Moldova
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili is visiting Moldova to participate in the 2nd European Political Community (EPC) Summit. During the summit, the Prime Minister participated in thematic roundtable discussions and held bilateral meetings. Moldovan President Maia Sandu officially welcomed the participants of the Summit in Chisinau on June 1.
After the welcoming ceremony, PM Garibashvili told reporters that the main topic of the Summit will be the war in Ukraine, as well as security issues on the European continent and in the world. In this regard, he expressed his solidarity with “friendly” Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, wishing them a quick end to the war, the restoration of territorial integrity and the establishment of peace.
The Prime Minister also noted that during the Summit, the Georgian side will focus on the challenges facing the country. In this regard, he drew attention to the Russian-occupied Georgian territories, saying that “this is one of our main challenges.” “Unfortunately, we are not a member of the European Union or NATO, and we certainly do not have a security umbrella and guarantees.”
In this view, PM Garibashvili noted that it is “especially important” for the Georgian government “to take right steps” and “in this highly unpredictable environment, let us first protect our country, save our country and take care of the security of our population, our people.”
“Our great wish and dream is to achieve a peaceful de-occupation of our country, to ensure that our country is united. Our government is doing its best to achieve this great goal as soon as possible,” the Prime Minister said, adding: “Our policy is a peaceful policy, we have maintained peace, strengthened peace, and we are leading our country to reunification.”
He also noted that the European perspective of Georgia will be one of the topics of discussion at the Summit. “I will express our position that Georgia is ready to receive candidate status,” he told reporters, adding: “Of course, our country deserves the status, it has no alternative, this is the only right decision that our European partners should make.”
Asked about Nagorno-Karabakh, the Prime Minister replied: “Georgia’s position and role is very neutral and impartial in the context of strengthening stability and peace in our region.” He stressed that Georgia has “very good relations” with both Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“Georgia successfully mediated after the armed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in 2021. We support the peace dialogue and negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. I believe that this is in the interests of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, our entire region,” the Prime Minister added.
Roundtable thematic discussion
During the roundtable thematic discussion on security, co-chaired by Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and Poland, Rishi Sunak and Mateusz Morawiecki, respectively, participants discussed the concrete steps and efforts to be taken to ensure peace and stability in Europe, according to the Georgian government’s press office.
According to the same report, the issue of Georgia was also discussed. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili spoke about the importance of granting Georgia candidate status and current security challenges in the region.
Also Read:
- 13/09/2022 – PM Tells Armenian Counterpart Georgia Ready to Mediate
- 18/07/2022 – Tbilisi Hosts Meeting Between Azerbaijani, Armenian Foreign Ministers
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
