Gov’t working “very closely” with EU on candidate status - FM
At a press briefing with his Danish counterpart Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Darchiashvili noted the Government was fulfilling “all the commitments” it had made with its EU partners. Photo: MFA of Georgia
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Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Monday said his Government was working “very closely” with the European Union to receive the bloc’s membership candidate status later this year, and called the process “the path that will eventually lead us to EU membership”.
At a press briefing with his Danish counterpart Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Darchiashvili noted the Government was fulfilling “all the commitments” it had made with its EU partners.
“At the moment, Georgia is working very closely with the European Union in order to receive the status of a candidate country. This is the step, the path that will eventually lead us to [EU] membership. It takes time, years, for Georgia to gain an eventual membership”, Darchiashvili said.
Denmark has always been manifesting firm support for ????????'s sovereignty and terr integrity, as well as its ????????integration. Today's visit of my Danish colleague @larsloekke is the reiteration of this support. We're committed to continuing working together to bolster ???????????????? relations. pic.twitter.com/Hh7jHycap9
— Ilia Darchiashvili (@iliadarch) May 15, 2023
We are a responsible partner, an associate member of the European Union, and we have fulfilled all the commitments we made with our partners. Therefore, it is very clear and easy to see the specific steps that the country has taken in this direction in very close coordination with its partners”, the top Georgian diplomat noted.
Darchiashvili also stressed Rasmussen’s visit to the country was a “very strong signal” that Denmark would “strongly support and protect” Georgia’s interests.
Of course, we know our work and homework well, and we are doing everything to take specific steps together with our partners and receive the EU membership candidate status”, he concluded.
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