Georgia’s foreign minister Maka Botchorishvili told Euronews on Wednesday that Georgia still aspires to accession to the European Union, but that it is “a big question to our European partners if they are serious about enlargement, especially in the South Caucasus and Georgia.”
In a Euronews-moderated panel at the Arab Media Summit in Dubai, Botchorishvili outlined Tbilisi’s firm position that “Europe wants to enlarge, but Europe does not have experience of being represented in South Caucasus.”
“We both need to learn, we both need to exchange, and for that we need very intensive dialogue and working together.”
Botchorishvili, who also serves as Georgia’s vice premier, repeated her government’s long-standing position that Brussels must respect Tbilisi.
While Georgia remains ready to discuss EU accession, Botchorishvili said, “we expect that European partners will also realise it is important to have intensive dialogue and mutual respect with partners, which are very important for our common security and prosperity.”
Georgia’s EU accession process has all but stalled amid increasingly icy relations between Tbilisi and Brussels, with the EU accusing Georgia of a downturn in its democratic process and of a pro-Russian approach, while Tbilisi maintains it remains committed to its European belonging, but only by pursuing its own interests.
“European aspirations and identity are very deeply rooted in Georgia’s history and identity, and it is very natural for Georgians to have this aspiration towards Europe,” the Georgian top diplomat told Euronews.
Once this principle was settled, there was a clear “but” from Georgia’s government representative, who explained that it is the “geopolitical context” together with “a very historic context” which makes this “a very delicate issue.”
“You will find the values that formed Georgia’s European aspiration, but also the same values that formed Georgian identity as well, so that is kind of a very delicate issue for Georgia,” Botchorishvili said.
Tbilisi is balancing its regional, or neighbourly, approach with its international ones, she explained.
‘We have our history and our own resillience’
When asked about Georgia’s response to accusations of being pro-Russian and not pursuing real EU ambitions while having its territories still occupied by Russia, the foreign minister reverted to the geopolitical context by replying that “yes, Russian troops (presence) in Georgian regions definitely creates major security threats, but we are looking at this situation as well from the point of view of opportunities.”
Therefore, the foreign minister outlined Tbilisi’s current strategy towards Russia’s presence: “there are plenty of opportunities if you focus on preserving peace and stability, preserving economic development, and that’s what we are doing today,” Botchorishvili said.
“Very often you will see different narratives flying around about Georgia, but the best message is to look at the numbers”, Botchorishvili continued.
She further implied that it is in Europe’s interests to engage, given that “Georgia has best economic growth in the region, in Europe, it’s around 8%, which is impressive and is the best answer to all the false narratives that we hear about Georgia.”
“The South Caucasus is important for Europe’s security and prosperity (and) Georgia is the important place where not only energy passes through, but many other things which are important for European security from different perspectives,” Botchorishvili said.
The foreign minister also insisted that as Georgia bridges Asia and Europe through its Black Sea access and given the current reshaping of global supply routes, it has “a very special place today in terms of connectivity.”
“Talking about the Middle Corridor, which is not just a physical corridor, but it represents everything meeting together and from a European perspective, it is important for European security and prosperity.”
During the panel debate at the Arab Media Summit, the foreign minister blamed “a massive disinformation campaign against Georgia also because of its geopolitical meaning and importance” conducted by “some actors” who have “used this very sensitive and very delicate topic for different political purposes or reasons”.
“From our perspective, yes, it’s quite complicated geopolitical context, but it is our history as well. We have experience and we have our own resilience as well. And we have our history which brought Georgia to this point,” Botchorishvili concluded.