“There is a clear statement for the European future in Georgia, but on the other side, an evolution by certain laws that raises some concerns for us. That means it’s exactly the moment where we need to be in contact to have some dialogue and to try to be clear and transparent to say what we can do in this situation,” Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, stated in Tirana, Albania, ahead of the European Political Community Summit.

Alain Berset did not rule out the possibility of a direct discussion with the Prime Minister during the European Political Community Summit, following their meeting in Antalya.

“For me, for the Council of Europe, the South Caucasus is really important, and the stability and peace in the South Caucasus are important. We can also mention what we are doing to encourage and support the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

As to Georgia, I was myself in Georgia in December, because we are witnessing an evolution quite complicated to understand for us. At the same time, a clear statement for the European future in Georgia, but on the other side, an evolution by certain laws that raises some concerns for us.

That means it’s exactly the moment where we need to be in contact to have some dialogue and to try to be clear and transparent to say what we can do in this situation. That’s why I had different contacts with Prime Minister Kobakhidze recently, the last time it was also in Antalya.

We agreed to develop together a structured dialogue to address all those issues. We are so far at the moment. Maybe we also have the occasion to address this issue with the Prime Minister Kobakhidze directly,” Alain Berset concluded.