Georgian Parliament Speaker: no meeting between Georgian PM, Russian President planned

The Prime Minister of Georgia is attending a forum in Turkmenistan focused on peace issues, invited by the Turkmen President, and the participants of the forum are determined by the host country, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili told the media.

In his remarks, Papuashvili noted that no meeting between the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and the Russian President Vladimir Putin was planned.

“The Georgian Prime Minister is in Turkmenistan at the invitation of the Turkmenistan President for a forum dedicated to peace issues. The participants of the forum are determined by the host himself. The Georgian Prime Minister is there and represents Georgia. The Georgian Government has proven one thing, especially in recent years, that we act only based on the interests of the Georgian people. We are ready to talk to everyone who is ready to respect the national interests of our people. The interests of the Georgian people are twofold: the reunification of our country and the growth of the well-being of our people. We talk to those who respect these interests, and we do not talk to those who do not”, the Speaker said.

“Respecting the national interests of the Georgian people from Russia’s side would require ending the occupation. Therefore, we do not engage. You may not realize it, but we do not even have diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation. The only platform is the Geneva format, where we can have contact for humanitarian purposes, as they maintain effective control over the occupied territories”, he concluded.