Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili held a phone call with Dutch colleague Mark Rutte over the current events in Ukraine, Georgia’s European integration, and bilateral relations.

According to the official readout, the parties focused on EU accession bids from the Associated Trio of Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova, also on Georgia’s progress toward the implementation of the EU Association Agreement.

Irakli Garibashvili emphasized that the European Commission’s positive decision on the submitted application will give fresh impetus to continuing the successful implementation of reforms, marking the beginning of a new phase in relations with the EU.

PM Garibashvili expressed hope that Georgia can count on support from the Kingdom of the Netherlands in this process. The conversation also focused on the ongoing war in Ukraine and the region’s complex security environment. He also reaffirmed Georgia’s solidarity and political support for Ukraine, including in multilateral formats, and underlined the importance of the international community’s joint effort toward deescalating the situation and ending the war as soon as possible.

The Prime Ministers also discussed Georgia’s security challenges, including the situation in the country’s occupied regions. Mark Rutte reiterated the firm support of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, it added.