European Council President Tusk: Russian ban on flights to Georgia is unjustified
European Commission Head Donald Tusk and Georgian President Salome Zurabihsvili met on the sidelines of the Batumi Conference. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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European Council President Donald Tusk says that the decision of Russia to ban direct flights to Georgia was “disproportionate and unjustified.”
Russia's recent decision to ban flights to Georgia is unjustified and disproportionate. But your country has weathered external pressure before and will do so again this time. The EU stands with Georgia in solidarity and with full commitment to your sovereignty and territorial integrity,"Tusk stated during his meeting with Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili on the sidelines of the 16th Batumi International Conference.
Georgia is an important partner and friend of the EU. We discussed how to further develop the strong EU-Georgia relations.
— Donald Tusk (@eucopresident) July 11, 2019
My statement after meeting @Zourabichvili_S https://t.co/RTsYwNgFDC pic.twitter.com/h8dhaWig50
He said that Georgia has shown “devotion” to democratic reforms and the rule of law many times.
Trust towards the court system is increasing and Georgia is becoming far more attractive for investments,” Tusk said.
He welcomed the decision of the Georgian Dream ruling party to conduct the 2020 parliamentary elections with the fully proportional vote.
#BatumiConferenceEaP10 pic.twitter.com/qu9H0ESqQl
— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) July 11, 2019
Speaking about ongoing, anti-occupation rallies in Tbilisi, Tusk said that “democracy is for development and not to trigger civil rivalry and wars.”
He said that Georgia should wait for solidarity from Brussels.
My Brussels experience tells me that you can count on European solidarity as long as your Georgian solidarity lasts, and as long as you respect your common strategic political goals. Democracy is a constant debate and not a civil war. Therefore, everything is in your hands.
EU-Georgia relations are built on common values, he said.
European Council President Donald Tusk has arrived in Georgia to participate in the international conference in the Black Sea town of Batumi, dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative.
The countries of the Eastern Partnership have created a catalogue of ongoing projects in need of investments, which will enable investors from the EU to examine the projects in detail, Deputy Minister of Economy Genadi Arveladze stated yesterday at a briefing.
The Batumi 16th International Conference, dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative, will open tomorrow with an “unprecedented number” of foreign guests, including the president of the European Council Donald Tusk, Georgian Foreign Ministry reports.
‘We are interested in attracting more investments from the EU’
Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava spoke at a panel titled ‘1st Eastern Partnership Investment forum: 10 Years After Prague’ at the16th Batumi International Conference, dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative.
The foreign ministers of Poland, Sweden, Bulgaria, Armenia, Hungary, Czech, Moldova and UK have met with top Georgian politicians to strengthen economic and political ties with the country.
“When I say Georgia, I mean freedom, when I say Georgia, I mean pride, when I say Georgia, I mean courage. You are a small country, but a great nation. You have achieved impossible things, because you were, despite all the differences, united around a common goal, that was a free, independent and modern state,” Tusk stated.
President of the European Council Donald Tusk has met with the founder and the head of the Georgian Dream ruling party Bidzina Ivanishvili and said that it was a “very interesting and inspiring meeting.”
German Bundestag VP Claudia Roth has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to remember what the borders of Georgia and Ukraine looked like in 1991 before conflicts in the region broke out. Claudia Roth made the comment at the 16th Batumi International Conference, dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership.
Russian Foreign Ministry responded to the President of European Council Donald Tusk who said the collapse of the Soviet Union was “a blessing" to Georgians, Poles, Ukrainians and the whole of Central and Eastern Europe, and also to Russians.
The human rights defender Sopho Verdzeuli said the Tbilisi protest of June 20 in front of the parliament of Georgia “became violent” after around 10 p.m. “Quite a lot of demonstrators were physically attacking police officers from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m., grabbing their equipment, pulling police officers out of the cordon”, Verdzeuli wrote on her Facebook page.
The Batumi 16th International Conference, dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative, has opened earlier today, with an “unprecedented number” of foreign guests, including the president of the European Council Donald Tusk, the Georgian Foreign Ministry reports.