Zelesnkiy voices support for Georgia’s EU integration in meeting with Zourabichvili
- 10 December, 11:13
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has voiced support for the pro-EU protests in Georgia as well as Tbilisi’s EU aspirations during the meeting with President Salome Zourabichvili in Paris on December 7.
“We are with your people, and we always support your country – your way of life and your choice of future membership in the EU and NATO. We are always with your people. We see everything, we support you,” Zelenskiy said during the meeting.
Zourabichvili spoke about police violence in pro-EU protests that started two weeks ago in response to the ruling Georgia Dream party’s decision to suspend the country’s EU integration process, as well the October 26 parliamentary elections that were deemed as rigged by the government.
Kyiv is a stark supporter of Georgia’s integration into the European Union. On December 5, Zelenskiy announced sanctions against the Georgia Dream party for “surrendering Georgia to Russia”. The Ukrainian leader called on other world leaders to voice their support for pro-democracy forces’ fight in Georgia. “If you do not respond in time or fail to respond with principle, then decades are lost, and countries are robbed of their freedom,” Zelenskiy stated.
Georgian government has been receiving backlash from its Western allies for derailing the South Caucasus nation from its EU integration path. In the latest of such backlashes, the UK announced that it was suspending engagement with the ruling Georgia Dream party and suspending all program support to the government.
