UK Minister Doughty Holds Calls With GD Officials Botchorishvili, Zurabashvili
Stephen Doughty, the UK’s Minister of State for Europe, North America, and the UK Overseas Territories, spoke with Georgian Dream Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili on October 16 and with Georgian Dream First Deputy Foreign Minister Giorgi Zurabashvili on October 21.
Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not report the exchanges, which became known through written correspondence after House of Lords member Simon Murray raised the issue of Georgia with UK Minister of State for International Development Jenny Chapman.
In her answer dated December 1, Chapman said the UK remains “severely concerned by democratic backsliding in Georgia, including restrictions on free speech and policing of protests,” adding that the issues were raised during the exchanges with Botchorishvili and Zurabashvili. She notably referred to them as the Georgian Dream foreign minister and the Georgian Dream deputy foreign minister.
“The UK is also supporting efforts in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Council of Europe to press Georgia to adhere to democratic norms,” she added.
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on December 2, when asked by journalists, that the exchanges took place by phone, without providing further details.
UK-Georgia relations remain strained. Since December 2024, the UK has sanctioned several senior GD officials, including now-former Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri, as well as other senior Interior Ministry officials, judges, former Prosecutors General Giorgi Gabitashvili, and Otar Partskhaladze.
Also Read:
- 11/11/2025 – GD Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili Meets British Ambassador Gareth Ward
- 25/09/2025 – Georgian Foreign Ministry Summons British Ambassador Gareth Ward
- 26/06/2025 – Sanctions Cast Shadow on Friendship, Botchorishvili Tells British Ambassador in Meeting
- 18/06/2025 – British Embassy Rejects GD’s Accusations of Funding ‘Propaganda and Extremism,’ Urges Invitation of ODIHR Observers
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