A high-level EU delegation, led by Swedish Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt, whose country holds EU rotating presidency, arrived in Georgia on July 16 as part of a trip to three South Caucasus states on July 16-20.

The delegation, which will spend almost three days in Georgia, will make first stop in Batumi, where it plans to meet with President Saakashvili.

The delegation of EU troika, which also includes representatives from the European Commission and a Spanish diplomat, Santiago Chamorro, as a representative of the next country to hold the EU presidency, will spend a day with EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) on July 17.

Carl Bildt wrote on his blog on July 16, that the delegation will visit EU monitors in “different parts of the country.”

EUMM said that the Swedish Foreign Minister “will be seeing the situation on the ground for himself in the areas close to both the Abkhazian and South Ossetian administrative boundary lines.”
 
Talks with the Georgian officials, as well as with representatives of parliamentary and non-parliamentary opposition are scheduled for July 18 in Tbilisi. The delegation is expected to meet with Irakli Alasania, leader of opposition Alliance for Georgia, and Levan Gachechiladze, an individual opposition politician; as well as with MP Giorgi Targamadze, leader of Christian-Democratic Movement and of parliamentary minority group.

Carl Bildt also wrote on his blog that the focus of discussions, during the trip to the South Caucasus countries, would be EU’s Eastern Partnership, as well as issues related with conflicts in the region.