Georgian parliamentary delegation arrives in Ukraine

The Georgian Parliamentary delegation, led by Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and involving representatives of both the ruling party and Parliamentary opposition, departed for its official visit to Ukraine on Friday, the Georgian Public Broadcaster said.

The Georgian parliamentary delegation will leave for Ukraine today, Parliament Vice Speaker Archil Talakvadze said on Friday.

A delegation of eight Georgian MPs, led by Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, will reportedly pay a visit to Ukraine tomorrow, amid Russia’s ongoing military invasion of the country.

Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Ukrainian Parliament Speaker, has welcomed the overcoming of “misunderstandings” between authorities of Ukraine and Georgia over their stances on the backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine, as his Georgian counterpart Shalva Papuashvili is preparing to visit the country defending itself from the Russian invasion.

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, along with the parliamentary delegation of Georgia, met with Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Chair Ruslan Stefanchuk and denounced Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine on an official visit to the country on Saturday.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Saturday Georgia had a “responsible” Government, and there would be "no more war" in the country.

Garibashvili’s remarks came after the opposition United National Movement members, along with former president Giorgi Margvelashvili, visited Ukraine before the Georgian parliamentary delegation arrived in Kyiv.

There have been no demands from the Ukrainian authorities to their Georgian counterparts on sanctions against Russia, as Georgia is already a part of all international measures imposed on the Kremlin following its invasion of Ukraine, Parliament Vice Speaker Archil Talakvadze said in an interview released by the Georgian Public Broadcaster on Sunday.

Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, said on Monday the Georgian parliamentary delegation had observed “signs of war crimes” during their visit to Ukraine on the weekend.

Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Ukrainian Parliament Speaker, on Friday thanked speakers of parliaments of foreign countries, including his Georgian counterpart, who have visited Ukraine to express their support in the face of Russian aggression.

The prospects of Georgia's accession to the European Union and Georgian-Polish bilateral relations were discussed by Levan Ioseliani, the Deputy Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Alexander Elisashvili, the Chairman of the opposition Citizens political group, and Mariusz Maszkiewicz, the Polish Ambassador to Georgia on Wednesday.

Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday said the Russian military aggression against Ukraine was “of particular concern,” pointing out Georgia’s Government “strongly” supported Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.

Ainars Latkovskis, the Chair of the Georgia Friendship Group of the Latvian Parliament, on Tuesday said the country supported Georgia's accession to NATO and the European Union, making the comment after meeting Georgian MPs in capital Riga.