Poland’s support for Georgia’s independence, freedom, peace, Euro-Atlantic aspirations “unequivocal” - Polish FM

Zbigniew Rau, the Polish Foreign Minister, on Thursday said his country’s support for Georgia’s independence, freedom, peace and Euro-Atlantic aspirations was “unequivocal”. 

In a press briefing with his Georgian counterpart Ilia Darchiashvili in Tbilisi, the visiting official highlighted Georgia’s “sovereign rights” to choose its own developing models and institutions or blocs it wished to join.

Extending his gratitude to his colleague for inviting him to the country and commending Georgia’s “well-known hospitality”, Rau stressed Georgians enjoyed “great sympathy” in his country. 

This sympathy was formed even during the struggle for the independence of our countries and also during the joint resistance against Russian imperialism, the victim of which is Ukraine today, with Georgia also facing Russian aggression in 2008”, he said. 

Delighted to host Polish FM @RauZbigniew to discuss ???????????????? relations& our common vision on regional security. Focused on how to move ????????’s EU integration process forward. Glad to have ????????'s full support for granting ????????EU candidate status. Remain committed to enhancing our partnership pic.twitter.com/8sYcbKTpRD

— Ilia Darchiashvili (@iliadarch) April 27, 2023

In his comments, Darchiashvili highlighted the “vital importance” of Poland's support for Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration.

The Polish official arrived in Georgia late on Wednesday and is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and President Salome Zourabichvili before leaving the country on Friday. 

The visit comes ahead of the NATO Summit in Vilnius in July, and the European Union’s decision on whether to grant Georgia its membership candidate status by the end of this year.