Ruling party Sec Gen urges equal partnership as Georgia seeks to reboot ties with EU

Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said the Georgian Government remained ready to engage in dialogue and reboot its relations with the European Union, emphasising the need for mutual respect and partnership.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Kaladze underlined that cooperation must be based on equality rather than pressure.

“Today, as always, we declare that we are ready for negotiations and for a complete reset - to start everything from a new page. The most important thing is that friendship and partnership must be mutual, not one-sided, as if Georgia is a small country that can be crushed”, the Mayor said.

He further added that Georgia had been facing “ultimatums” and political manipulation for years.

“If we look back a bit, first they tried to pressure and shake the country with the [EU membership] candidate status issue, using it as a tool to provoke a revolution. They told the people that Georgians are good, but your government is bad. Then came manipulations around the opening of negotiations. Now, it’s the visa liberalisation topic”, Kaladze continued.

The official stressed that Georgia was fully committed to the Association Agreement with the EU and continued to implement all necessary reforms and steps toward European integration.

“All objective assessments show that Georgia meets or even exceeds the standards of countries that already have candidate status or have opened negotiations. We are ahead of many in all measurable criteria. But once political narratives enter the discussion, the truth is distorted with lies and slander”, he continued.

The Tbilisi Mayor accused certain forces of being frustrated by the Georgian people’s resilience and electoral choices.

“They are simply irritated and furious that the Georgian people have defeated the evil that has been fighting against our state - both in parliamentary and local elections”, he noted.

Kaladze reiterated the Georgian Government’s readiness to rebuild relations with the EU on a fair and equal basis.

“We continue to say that we are ready for negotiations and to restart relations from a new page. What matters most is that friendship and partnership must be reciprocal - not imposed in a way that sacrifices Georgia’s interests or those of the Georgian people. That approach will not work”, he concluded.