The Daily Beat: 29 May
Nika Melia, one of the leaders of the opposition Coalition for Change, was arrested on 29 May, his lawyer confirmed. This comes one day before his scheduled court hearing regarding charges related to refusing to testify before Georgian Dream’s parliamentary commission. Tbilisi City Court had previously set bail in the case to be paid by May 30.
The Polish and French Embassies in Tbilisi have advised their citizens to carefully consider the factors that could result in denied entry into Georgia before traveling. They emphasized that participation in or presence at ongoing protests, as well as social media activity, could lead to entry issues. These advisories come after over a year of incidents where foreign nationals have been turned away at the Georgian border, particularly amid ongoing protests that began in November 2024.
Georgian Airways, the national airline, is under scrutiny following reports that one of its VIP aircraft, usually reserved for government use, was allegedly employed to transport Giorgi Bachaishvili, aide to Bidzina Ivanishvili, from Abu Dhabi to Tbilisi. Bachaishvili’s lawyers have described the incident as an unlawful cross-border abduction, characterized by blindfolds, secrecy, and a lack of formal extradition procedures.
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze visited Hungary on May 28, where he met with his Hungarian counterpart, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Kobakhidze is also participating in the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which is held in Budapest. This was the sixth time that Kobakhidze and Orbán have met since the October 26, 2024, parliamentary elections in Georgia.
The Georgian Dream Foreign Minister, Maka Botchorishvili, met with Ivana Živković, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS, to discuss the partnership between Georgia and the United Nations Development Programme. According to the foreign ministry, during the meeting, “the parties reviewed the 30-year-old close partnership and key areas of cooperation, including UNDP’s efforts to promote sustainable development in the country.”
The European Commission and the High Representative for EU Foreign Affairs issued a Joint Communication outlining the EU’s strategic approach to the Black Sea region, emphasizing its geostrategic importance. The document states the EU’s commitment to enhancing democratic resilience and asserting EU interests in a region crucial for Europe’s stability and prosperity. For more information on the EU’s new vision for the Black Sea region, you can read our story.