“Our message is loud and clear. We support the Georgian people on their pathway to democracy, independence, the rule of law, and human rights, which they deserve,” Elina Valtonen, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland, stated ahead of the EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Luxembourg.

“We will also put special focus on the situation of Georgia, where we deplore the government’s decision to take steps away from further integration into the EU, the rule of law, and open society and democracy. This will be the first thorough discussion on the FAC level on the situation in Georgia and our message is loud and clear. We support the Georgian people on their pathway to democracy, independence, the rule of law, and human rights, which they deserve, and also that they have asked for their government to open up doors. Now, at the same time, when the government has taken steps against this true will of the people, we have to think about measures on how we counter the government. While at the same time, keeping up hope for the people.

There are measures, and, for instance, what we can do is make it more difficult for Georgian officials to travel to Europe. It can mean sanctions, it can mean all sorts of measures that we can undertake, but we will revert after our thorough discussions today. We are open towards measures, which specifically target the Georgian government and not the people of Georgia,” the Minister declared.

Today, a ministerial meeting of foreign affairs will be held in Luxembourg, chaired by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. The agenda will include a discussion on Georgia among other important issues.