Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze is attending the eighth European Political Community (EPC) summit in Yerevan on May 4. Georgian Dream Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili and Government Administration Head Levan Zhorzholiani are accompanying him.
The summit brings together about 50 leaders from across the continent. Among them are Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Moldovan President Maia Sandu, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Many of them, including the Georgian delegation, arrived in the Armenian capital on Sunday, May 3.
The May 4 summit takes place under the motto “Building the Future: Unity and Stability in Europe,” as the European Council said, “At a time of profound geopolitical transformation, leaders will discuss how to cooperate more closely and coordinate action to strengthen democratic resilience, advance connectivity and reinforce economic and energy security.” It is held ahead of the first EU-Armenia bilateral summit on May 4-5.
Kobakhidze had also attended previous EPC summits, including in Copenhagen and Tirana. Georgian Dream, however, remains largely isolated from the country’s traditional Western partners following the 2024 contested elections, concerns over democratic backsliding and authoritarian drift, and anti-EU actions.
In Yerevan, the GD prime minister is set to speak at a roundtable discussion focused on connectivity and economic security and take part in the second meeting of the European Coalition Against Drugs (ECAD).
“The summit will be used for bilateral meetings, and in my speech, I will focus on Georgia’s special role in Europe in terms of connectivity. We connect seven countries to the Black Sea and therefore to the West in economic and trade terms, and of course, we will actively discuss this,” Kobakhidze said in a Facebook post, sharing photos from the summit, including what appears to be a brief exchange with French President Emmanuel Macron and a handshake with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Georgian government administration reposted several photos on its website, including what appears to be a screenshot of Kobakhidze shaking hands with Zelenskyy during a group photo of leaders. Pro-government Imedi TV also shared an eight-second clip of Kobakhidze’s exchange with Macron, along with a video of leaders posing for a group photo that also shows Kobakhidze shaking hands with Zelenskyy.
Kobakhidze later spoke with Zelenskyy in what he said was a “meeting” “initiated by the Ukrainian side,” during which they discussed “relations between the two countries.” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Georgian Dream Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili also attended.
More to follow…
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