Orbán: Georgians Shouldn’t Take Seriously the Debates in EU on October 26 Elections

On October 29, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán held a joint press conference with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze as part of his visit to Tbilisi. Orbán congratulated his counterpart on the victory of Georgian Dream in the parliamentary elections and said that there will be some debates about it in the EU, but the Georgians should not take it seriously.

The press conference began with PM Kobakhidze thanking PM Orbán for his visit and the “fruitful” Hungarian-Georgian cooperation in all areas. He emphasized Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the European Union and noted that since Georgia’s main foreign policy priority is to join the EU, Hungary’s support for Georgia’s EU aspirations is highly appreciated. He also emphasized the common Christian values of the two countries and thanked Orbán for his country’s support for Georgia’s territorial integrity.

For his part, Viktor Orbán thanked his Georgian counterpart for the invitation to visit the country, noting that he had refrained from visiting during the pre-election period because it would have been perceived by the Georgians as foreign interference in the elections. He also spoke about the “mutually-beneficial” relations between the two countries, saying that the good relations stem from the fact that both countries are “fighters for freedom and sovereignty”.

The Hungarian Prime Minister noted that Hungary is a great supporter of Ukraine and said that both Hungary and Georgia know what war is like and congratulated the Georgians for choosing peace and the EU in the elections. He also noted that GD has a pro-EU policy and it’s ridiculous to doubt it. He praised Prime Minister Kobakhidze for fulfilling the EU aspirations of Georgians. He congratulated the Georgian government for not allowing Georgia to become another Ukraine. He said he’s sure that in a decade Georgia will be in the best shape to become an EU member. He noted that Hungary will continue to support EU integration and said that Hungary and Georgia have exchanged experts on EU integration.

Prime Minister Orbán congratulated his colleague on winning the elections and said that he’d been following the debates and critical opinions about the elections in the EU, but no one had yet said that the elections were undemocratic. He said that Hungarian observers were sent to Georgia and according to their reports, which he read, the elections were positive in all aspects – free and democratic elections. He said that Hungarians understand that Georgia has chosen peace in these elections. He addressed the Georgians and said that they shouldn’t take the debates in the EU seriously, because this is exactly what happens – when conservatives win, according to him, there are always such debates. He claimed that according to the EU handbook – if the liberals win, then the elections are democratic, and if the conservatives win, then they are not.

Prime Minister Orbán arrived in Georgia on October 28 for a two-day visit. He first arrived at the hotel located on Rustaveli Avenue, where the rally of the people who believe that the elections were rigged was held. The people reacted to the motorcade of PM Orbán with loud whistling, booing and negative comments. Orbán had only one official meeting with the Prime Minister of Georgia and left after the press conference.

Also Read:

• 28/10/2024 – Joint Statement of EU Ministers on Elections in Georgia
• 28/10/2024 – Speaker Papuashvili Claims Opposition, CSOs Spread “Election-Related Disinformation”
• 27/10/2024 – NDI, IRI International Observer Mission Preliminary Assessment of Georgian Elections
• 27/10/2024 – International Election Observation Mission Preliminary Findings and Conclusions

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)