Georgia and Ukraine agree to resume dialogue, says Foreign Minister Botchorishvili

“The Ukrainian side has genuinely stepped up its communication with Georgia,” said Georgia’s Foreign Minister, Maka Botchorishvili, speaking on the programme Imedi Live in connection with her telephone conversation with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha.

According to Botchorishvili, she and her Ukrainian counterpart agreed that relations between the two countries would continue.

“For a very long time, the Ukrainian side was communicating with Georgia and the Georgian public exclusively through social media, and the messages we were hearing were not always the most agreeable, which is something we simply cannot set aside. What matters is, firstly, that the initiative to sit down and talk has come from the Ukrainian side. That can be viewed as a positive step. And secondly, it is important, from our side, that certain issues which have built up in the relationship over these years are properly understood by Ukraine, in the same way that we, Georgian society and the Georgian government, have understood them, and that we move forward. We agreed that we will meet before long and will be able to discuss everything that can be done to bring the relations between our two countries back within the bounds of normality,” Botchorishvili stated.

The Foreign Minister emphasised that Georgia’s positions and approach have not changed.

“We have a firm and entirely consistent position about Ukraine. This has been evident in every international organisation; it has been evident in our statements, and yet there was a position from the other side that appeared to disregard everything Tbilisi was saying. That is perhaps the question we ought to be asking: on what basis were those positions that we heard from Ukraine founded?” she said.

Botchorishvili also commented on the talks between the Georgian and Ukrainian sides in Yerevan, clarifying that the conversation between Georgia’s Prime Minister and Ukraine’s President had been preceded by a discussion between the two foreign ministers.

“The desire to take certain steps forward in the relationship that, first and foremost, is what we came away with, and it is what this communication was in service of. The rest remains to be seen; time will tell how things develop. We had already made clear that we were finding ourselves in a situation of something of a one-sided friendship with Ukraine, effectively a one-sided mode of support. That support on our part has never ceased and, naturally, these relations must be grounded in mutual respect and continue on that basis. That is, of course, our wish as well. We have never desired any other kind of relationship with any friendly state or people. If such a desire exists on the other side too, then the appropriate steps will be taken, and we shall be nothing but glad,” the Foreign Minister said.

For reference, Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released information today regarding the telephone conversation between Minister Botchorishvili and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. According to the ministry, the call covered Georgian-Ukrainian relations, underscored the importance of dialogue, and addressed the next steps in that direction.

Sybiha also published a post on social media following the call, stating that the two sides had agreed on a mutual interest in normalising Ukraine-Georgia relations.

“I am pleased that, following our contacts in Yerevan, I continued the dialogue with Maka Botchorishvili. We agreed on a mutual interest in normalising Ukraine-Georgia relations,” Sybiha wrote.

Sybiha and Botchorishvili held a meeting in Yerevan on May 4, on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit.