French President Hollande to visit Georgia

French President Francois Hollande will visit Georgia this spring.

Georgia’s Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze made the announcement of Hollande’s May 13 visit at a press conference today.

"The Ministry is working on details of the French leader’s official visit to Tbilisi. We have to specify the schedule of the visit,” Panjikidze said.

Hollande, 59, was elected President of France on May 6 2012 after defeating Nicolas Sarkozy who held the role for five years. Holland was sworn in on May 15, 2012. He is the second Socialist Party President of the French Fifth Republic, after the late François Mitterrand, who was leader of the country from 1981 to 1995.

Hollande’s visit will be the third time a French President has visited Tbilisi since 2008.

Ex-President Sarkozy, who mediated ceasefire between Russia and Georgia three years ago, visits Tbilisi in 2008 and 2011.

His first Tbilisi visit was on August 12, 2008, when his country held EU’s rotating presidency. He played a vital role in negotiating ceasefire terms with Russian leadership in Moscow during the Russia-Georgia war in August 2008.