Georgian FM says dialogue with EU has been suspended by Brussels itself, not Georgia

Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili on Thursday said Georgia had not suspended its dialogue with the European Union, adding the allegations related to this issue were untrue.

In her interview with Imedi TV, Botchorishvili noted that the Government did its best to prevent the European integration process from becoming a tool of political struggle, however, certain forces used the issue in a manipulative manner.

“Everything they say about this is a lie, it is disinformation and manipulation. When someone claims that Georgia has stopped the process of joining the European Union, this statement is simply a lie. Georgia has not stopped anything”, the FM said.

“The Georgian Government did everything to ensure that the issue of European Union membership was not used as a weapon in the political struggle. However, certain groups twisted the issue as if the dialogue had been stopped on the Georgian side. In fact, the dialogue had been stopped long before the [Prime Minister’s] statement [regarding suspending talks with the EU] was made”, she continued.

As Botchorishvili said,written communication from the European Union already existed in June, and it was Brussels that suspended formal contacts.

“Today we have also seen the letters - there are documents, however, in international relations there are certain ethics and rules, which is why not everything is published publicly. The fact is that the European Union itself suspended communication after the legitimate Parliament adopted the laws [on foreign influence and protection of minors]. We must not allow history to be written differently. Protests and demonstrations against democracy started in our country after the [parliamentary] elections,” she concluded.

Paweł Herczyński, the European Union Ambassador to the country, last week addressed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia with a letter. The letter challenged the longstanding campaign suggesting that Georgia itself had refused to start accession talks with the EU. The Ambassador specifically pointed out that, according to European Council conclusions, the EU made the decision to suspend Georgia’s accession process on June 27, 2024.