“Georgians cannot tolerate injustice and oppression the most, and I would once again express my hope that Georgia will receive the candidate status,” said Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili at the joint briefing with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban in Telavi, Georgia.

Irakli Garibashvili said that he had a “prolific meeting” with his Hungarian counterpart, discussing relations in trade, economy, security, defence, education, culture and other spheres where the two countries achieved “tangible results and progress.”

Speaking about Georgia-Hungary relations, the Georgian PM underlined that commitment to traditional and eternal values, which “played a decisive role in preserving history, culture and identity,” unite Georgia and Hungary.

According to the Georgian PM, the Hungarian people are lucky to have a strong and patriotic leader who protects the interests of his country and people.

The PM underscored that while the Georgian Dream’s government were in office, Georgia made huge progress on the EU integration path.

“Today, Georgia is in a difficult condition, facing a changed geopolitical situation in the world and, especially on the European Continent, which has been established in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine. And, you know, the first war was in Georgia in 2008, which resulted in the Russian occupation of 20% of our territory. With the government’s correct, pragmatic and patriotic policy, today we have the only unprecedented, peaceful and stable period, which brought strong economic growth and welfare,” he said.

Irakli Garibashvili went on to say that Georgia received a European Perspective last year, which was an unfair decision, and that the Hungarian PM labelled it as “immoral and unfair.” Garibashvili stressed that the government did its best to fulfil the EC’s 12-point recommendations, and the process continued.

“Naturally, Georgia deserves candidate status because we know very well the situation of those countries which received the status. Georgia outruns those countries twice or threefold in any sphere, be that public governance, transparency, corruption control or judicial reforms. We are a forefront country. I understand that the decision will be merit-based or political, but it is likely to be a political one,” he said.

Irakli Garibashvili stressed that Georgia should receive candidate status because it is the “choice of Georgian citizens.”