Georgian Parliament Speaker: geography itself makes Georgia unavoidable player in Black Sea cooperation

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday said that certain European Commissioners were attempting to exclude Georgia from regional discussions, but stressed that the country remained indispensable in the Black Sea cooperation.

In his remarks, Papuashvili accused individual European Commissioners of holding a negative personal stance toward the Georgian public and attempting to organise regional meetings in a way that sidelined Georgia.

“We see attempts by some European Commissioners - who have their own personal negative attitude toward the Georgian people - to ignore geography and to hold meetings on issues related to the Black Sea and the region without Georgia’s participation. But you cannot defeat geography - no one can bypass Georgia when it comes to the importance of regional cooperation”, he said.

The Speaker further noted that the submarine cable project linking Georgia and Romania served the interests of Europe above all, as it would enable the delivery of green energy from the region to the EU.

“This important project is first and foremost in the interests of EU member states, and therefore this priority cannot disappear. The cable that is supposed to connect Georgia to Romania and will allow the transmission of green energy from the region to the European Union - is primarily in the interests of EU citizens”, he noted.

Papuashvili argued that pragmatic and business-oriented collaboration with Georgia remained essential for Europe.

“This is exactly what we mean by sensible cooperation - instead of activism, which we sometimes witness from certain European Commissioners, there is an absolutely rational and businesslike approach toward Georgia and the region”, Papuashvili concluded.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday welcomed the European Commission’s decision to include the Black Sea submarine cable project on its list of projects of mutual interest, stressing that Georgia was ready to continue close cooperation with European institutions on its implementation.