Georgian Dream Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili was not invited to the European Union foreign affairs ministerial set for October 20 in Luxembourg, where foreign ministers from other Black Sea countries will be present, according to several sources.
Rikard Jozwiak, Europe editor for RFE/RL, first reported the news on X, saying that foreign ministers from Central Asian states and Black Sea countries were invited, adding, “No invite for the Georgian foreign minister, however, as they will be represented at the ambassadorial level.” A source close to the matter also confirmed to Civil.ge that Botchorishvili was not invited.
Following the disputed October 26, 2024, parliamentary elections, Georgia’s foreign policy shift away from the EU, and ongoing state repression, EU-Georgia relations have reached a low point, lacking high-level engagement. Georgia was also excluded from the informal EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Copenhagen earlier in September and from the EU’s informal “Gymnich” gathering in Warsaw in May.
However, Civil.ge has learned from a source that Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has been invited to the European Political Community meeting on October 2 in Denmark.
Georgia’s Foreign Ministry later confirmed that Georgian Dream FM Maka Botchorishvili was not invited to the EU ministerial and said it declined the merely ambassadorial-level invitation, calling the EU’s move “unacceptable and incomprehensible.”
“Considering Georgia’s role in both regional security and connectivity, it should be in the interest of EU member states for Georgia to participate at the appropriate level in discussions on this important issue,” the ministry added.
“The invitation of Georgia at the ambassadorial level to the planned ministerial by the European External Action Service points to the unserious attitude of the EU institution. It demonstrates not only a denial of geopolitical but also simple geographical realities and represents yet another attempt to use the issue of Georgia’s invitation to EU events as a subject of political speculation and to encourage a radical agenda and polarization in Georgia.”
GD Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili went further, saying that Brussels now “has a kindergarten-level foreign policy” and no longer “acknowledges geography” in such decisions, stating that the GD authorities are now pursuing a policy of strategic patience with the EU.
“Unfortunately, Brussels has a kindergarten-level foreign policy, and this decision also shows that they not only deny the facts about where Georgia stands in terms of economic development and democratic development […] but they also no longer see the map, or acknowledge geography.”
“We are in a policy of strategic patience with Brussels, let’s see, we should wait, we see that this is today the foreign policy that Brussels pursues, part of that unqualified policy by which Brussels is ultimately damaging itself,” Papuashvili told journalists on September 24.
NOTE: The news was updated on September 24 at 12:30 pm to include the Georgian Foreign Ministry’s comment and at 12:45 pm to include Shalva Papuashvili’s reaction.
Also Read:
- 11/07/2025 – EU’s Kallas, 17 European FMs ‘Disturbed, Deeply Concerned’ Over Georgia’s ‘Deteriorating Situation’
This post is also available in: ქართული