Georgian President Salomé Zurabishvili on May 31, 2023 in Brussels. KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP
” Care for Georgia on the way Europe is vital for us, but it is just as important for Europe. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili was in Brussels on Wednesday, May 31, to plead for her country’s rapprochement with the European Union (EU), a prospect jeopardized by Russia’s growing hold on this former Soviet republic.
The visit of the Head of State comes a few months before the decision of the Twenty-Seven to grant or not the status of official candidate for the EU. Georgia was denied this status in June 2022, unlike Ukraine and Moldova. The European Commission presented him with 12 recommendations for implementation before Brussels will re-examine his file and decide on it in December.
During her trip, Ms. Zourabichvili met face-to-face with top EU officials: European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola. The aim of these meetings is to support the President’s pro-European commitment, despite her very limited powers in her country, whose system has been parliamentary since a constitutional reform in 2018.
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Given the increasingly openly pro-Russian stance of the Georgian government since the invasion of Ukraine, Europeans see Ms Zurabishvili as an ally in preventing Georgia from slipping into the Kremlin’s sphere of influence in the midst of the war in Ukraine. “I welcome your strong commitment to Georgia’s European perspective and look forward to continuing to work with you,” emphasized Ms. von der Leyen. Charles Michel stressed that progress was needed on reforming the judiciary, freedom of the press and civil society, and de-oligarchisation and de-polarisation of political life.
Anti-Russian demonstrations
For a year and a half, signs of rapprochement between Moscow and Tbilisi have multiplied, to the dismay of the population, 80% pro-European and still traumatized by the 2008 war with Russia. Therefore, after the invasion of Ukraine, the government refused to impose economic sanctions on Moscow because they contradicted its national interests. The head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, immediately congratulated him on his “courage” and “resistance to Western pressure”. He also said he hopes for the resumption of direct flights between Russia and Georgia, which have been suspended since 2019, “in the near future”. This wish was granted on May 10 by a decree signed by Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin chief also gave the green light to a ninety-day visa-free regime for Georgian citizens traveling to Russia.
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