Georgian Parliament official: Brussels should reconsider position and resume full-fledged dialogue with Georgia

Nikoloz Samkharadze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee, on Friday expressed hope that Brussels would soon reconsider its position and restore full-fledged dialogue with Georgia, noting that an increasing number of countries recognized the need to resume engagement.

Speaking to journalists about meetings held during the Georgian parliamentary delegation’s visit to Italy, Samkharadze said discussions focused on bilateral economic relations and Russia’s occupation of Georgian territories.

“We discussed bilateral economic relations and the occupation. We provided our partners with information about developments in the Tskhinvali region and Abkhazia”, Samkharadze said.

He also noted that an increasing number of countries were reaching the conclusion that dialogue with Georgia should be restored, arguing that the current situation had reached a dead end.

“Our impression is that more and more countries are becoming convinced that dialogue should be resumed, that the current situation is a dead end, and that the Georgian Dream party’s support in Georgia is not merely at the level recorded during the parliamentary elections but is significantly higher today, as confirmed by the latest polls”, Samkharadze said.

“We therefore hope that Brussels will ultimately reconsider its position soon and restore full-fledged dialogue with Georgia”, he added.

The Georgian parliamentary delegation, led by Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, visited Rome, where Papuashvili addressed the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament. The delegation also held several bilateral meetings during the visit