Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze reiterated that the country’s integration into the European Union remains “the priority” for Tbilisi, despite strong criticism from the opposition, which accuses the government of adopting an authoritarian attitude and being too close to Russia. Kobakhidze told reporters that “our main foreign policy priority is undoubtedly European integration,” expressing hope that relations with Brussels could improve after recent periods of tension. He also promised that all necessary efforts would be made for Georgia to become a member of the Union by 2030.

Meanwhile, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili accused President Salome Zurabichvili and the opposition she leads of plotting a “coup” against the results of the latest parliamentary elections, in which the ruling Georgian Dream party won. Zurabichvili questioned the results of the polls, saying the elections were “completely falsified.” Before the vote, the president had floated the idea of ​​forming a government composed entirely of opposition members to implement reforms necessary for EU membership and then return to the polls after 12-18 months. Papuashvili denounced this plan as being prepared in advance: “Declaring the results illegitimate in order to establish a caretaker government is a coup scenario,” he was quoted as saying by the Russian agency Ria Novosti.

During a visit to Georgia, Josep Borrell, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Policy, said that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban “does not represent” the European Union. Borrell explained in an interview with Spanish public radio station Rne that “the rotating president of the Union has no authority in foreign policy”, thus underlining a clear distinction between Orban and the European institution in the context of his visit to the Caucasian country.