Poland wants EU, NATO doors open to countries like Georgia

Polish President Andrzej Duda and his wife Agata Kornahuser-Duda are paying a three-day visit to Georgia.

After arriving in Tbilisi last night, Duda has already met with Georgian President and Prime Minister and made strong statements in support of Georgia’s integration into the European Union (EU) and NATO as well as the country’s territorial integrity.

"When it comes to NATO and the EU, I always say that both of these organisations should be ready to welcome new members, those nations who have strongly decided to be part of this community. Georgia is such country”, Duda said, standing by Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili at a joint press briefing this afternoon.

Reconfirming his respect towards the Georgian nation and government, Duda said that by receiving the right to visa-free travel to the EU for its citizens, Georgia got closer to the European society, which he always though Georgia belonged to.

Honored to host President @AndrzejDuda of #Poland in #Tbilisi. Looking forward to deepening our countries' relations even more. pic.twitter.com/fkeEk3WOop

— President Of Georgia (@MargvelashviliG) May 30, 2017

President Margvelashvili said that the visit of the Polish President to Georgia just after the NATO Summit in Brussels is a "strong political signal”.

Margvelashvili stressed the importance of support of Poland, the Baltic countries and other central and eastern European states as Georgia fought Russian annexation of its territories.

Earlier this afternoon, the two presidents accepted a declaration on Polish-Georgian cooperation. The declaration included a statement indicating the need for embracing Georgia with an individual programme of rapprochement with the EU, taking into account the country's advanced relations with the organisation.

While in Tbilisi, President Duda met with Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili too. Photo: President's press office.

Prior to the start of the meeting, the Polish president's chief aide Krzysztof Szczerski said that the Georgia visit would be a signal of Poland's return to politics in that region.

"In recent years we have travelled to Georgia under the EU flag; today we are going there with the Polish flag", Szczerski said on Monday.

"We are intensifying Polish-Georgian relations, bringing back the dynamics we knew in the days of President Lech Kaczynski. We want Poland to be again a country which is an important reference point for the Georgians when it comes to the policy of approaching the Western world structures".

He also commented the Russian military actions in Georgia and said: "Any change of border by force, any occupation of the territory of another sovereign country, should not take place under any circumstances because it violates international law".

The official reason for Duda's visit is the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Polish-Georgian diplomatic relations after Georgia gained independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

President Duda and his wife were officially welcomed by the Georgian President and his wife at the Avlabari Presidential Palace in Tbilisi. Both presidents held a one-on-one meeting, followed by plenary talks of the delegations.

Duda will also lay a wreath in front of former Polish president Lech Kaczynski's monument in Tbilisi, unveiled in the Georgian capital on the second anniversary of the Smolensk disaster in 2012 . The monument stands on a square named after Lech Kaczynski, which in turn is located near a street named after Lech and Maria Kaczynski. Lech Kaczynski is one of the most recognisable figures for the Georgian people, who remember the support he gave their country during the war with Russia in 2008.

On Wednesday, President Duda will meet with Polish commanders, soldiers, police officers and border guards participating in the European Monitoring Mission (EUMM) aimed at monitoring the situation on the administrative line between the separatist provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the rest of Georgia. The Russian-Georgian war in August 2008 led to the breakaway of the separatist regions from Georgia.

The Polish presidential couple will also take part in the opening of Polish marshal Jozef Pilsudski Avenue in Tbilisi. This year Poland celebrates Jozef Pilsudski Year to mark the marshal's 150th birthday.

The agenda also includes President Duda's talks with Zurab Pataradze, the Chairman of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara in the west of Georgia.