Georgian PM: “Our every step towards West is followed by aggressive actions by Russia”

The situation in Georgia’s Russian-occupied territories remains hard and Russia continues the illegal installation of barbed-wire fences and "border” signs there, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said.

He stressed that every step made by Georgia towards the West becomes a reason for aggressive actions by Russia.

Kvirikashvili spoke these words at the Ambassadorial 2017 in Tbilisi – an annual gathering of heads of Georgian Diplomatic Missions abroad. This year’s event is called "Result-Oriented Diplomacy in Turbulent Environment”.

Kvirikashvili thanked Georgian diplomats for their hard work in order to keep Georgia’s top challenge – occupied territories – high on the international agenda.

PM of #Georgia talking about the importance of #visaliberalisation, Georgias European Way & #GEO's friends & partners on #Ambassadorial2017pic.twitter.com/Gaq1rQEjUo

— MFA of Georgia (@MFAgovge) July 18, 2017

He also said that thanks to the professionalism of Georgian diplomats, the country enjoyed several key achievements this year. Among others, he named:

• Waiving of European Union visa requirements for Georgians;
• Holding an important NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Tbilisi;
• Establishing close relations with the new United States Administration;
• Signing Free Trade Agreement with China.

 Apart from the Prime Minister, other Georgian leaders also spoke at the Ambassadorial.

President Giorgi Margvelashvili said in his opening remarks that Georgian diplomacy has to encounter one of the world’s strongest and most experienced forces, Russian diplomacy, and the Georgian diplomacy is always the winner of this encounter.

Georgia’s vision is not fighting any of its neighbours but establishing good relations and creating a space for collaboration with all states”, he said, adding that the only exception in this regard is Russia as this country constantly tries to create complications for Georgia and worsen the security environment in the region.

In this regard, Margvelashvili said that Georgia’s partners should know that the encounter with Russia is not a process that  started only in 2008 but it stems from the 1990’s when Georgia made its first steps towards its freedom and independence.

"Accordingly, the narration as if at some stage Georgia created complications for Russia and this was the reason of the aggressive actions by Russia is wrong, because from the very first days of our independence our northern neighbor has been trying to stop our European development”, Margvelashvili said.

At the annual Ambassadorial, Georgia’s top officials and diplomats sum up policies the country has embraced in the past year, and plan future activities.

The first ever Ambassadors Meeting was held in 1995 when Georgia’s newly-appointed Foreign Minister, Irakli Menagarishvili, brought Georgian and foreign diplomats together at the Georgian Government’s Chancery, where they discussed plans for developing the country, regional relations and future prospects.