EU Ambassador Hartzell: President Zurabishvili’s speech both meaningful, important

EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell has stated that President Salome Zurabishvili’s annual report in parliament today was both “meaningful and important’, noting that now he is waiting for discussions around the issues pushed forward  by the president. 

Zurabishvili raised Ukraine’s topic in her speech and voiced several initiatives to respond to the conflict and Georgia’s EU integration prospects. 

She stated that the Georgian people have acted ‘much cautiously and bravely’ than the country’s authorities in terms of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. 

Zurabishvili also said that an expanded format of the State Security Council should be created to respond to ‘sensitive issues’ triggered by the hostilities in Ukraine ‘with the engagement of the opposition,’ and that the Office of the State Minister for European Integration should be established as Georgia has applied for EU membership. 

She also offered a moratorium on hate speech and called on political forces for unity. 

Zurabishvili also requested her Ukrainian counterpart to return his country’s ambassador to Georgia who has been recalled for consultations over the Georgian government’s reactions to international sanctions against Russia and sending of volunteer fighters to Ukraine.