Remarks by President Charles Michel after his meeting in Georgia with Prime Minister Garibashvili and representatives of opposition political parties

The political dialogue in Georgia is re-launched tonight.

We had a very important meeting with the leaders of the political parties in the opposition and with the Prime Minister. We had the opportunity to listen to each other. And we understand that there are many difficult topics that need to be tackled by the political actors.

I proposed the support of the EU in order to encourage all the positive efforts on the different elements. In two weeks we will have in Brussels the next Association Council with Georgia. It will be a rendez-vous clause in order to observe what progress has been made.. what progress has been made..in order to observe what progress has been made on the different difficult topics. But the main message is the following: what counts for the EU is the protection of the interests of the Georgian citizens.

In this country there are many difficult and complex challenges. The economic development, the social cohesion, COVID-19, security, stability. These are very essential challenges that need to be tackled and that is why it is urgent to solve this political crisis. And tonight I am proud because a good step, an important step in the right direction has been taken.

It doesn’t mean that everything is solved. It doesn’t mean that there are no difficult topics that will be discussed between the political parties with the government. But it means that when I asked the clear question to all the participants: is there the political will to strengthen the political dialogue in order to find solutions together? The answer was clearly yes. These are good steps, important steps, and we continue to support all the positive efforts.