European Council President Donald Tusk welcomed “strong relations” between Georgia and the European Union and said that Georgia “deserves a timely and positive finalization of its visa liberalisation process.”

In his remarks made after the meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili in Brussels on Thursday, he stressed that all EU member states confirmed that Georgia has met all the required benchmarks and now it is the European Union’s “internal problem to make sure that the required visa suspension mechanism will be agreed as soon as possible.”

PM Kvirikashvili thanked the European Council President for supporting Georgia on this path and expressed hope that the European Union “will honor the share of commitments and introduce short-term visa free travel regime for citizens of Georgia.”

European Council President Donald Tusk welcomed Georgia’s elections, which “were competitive and respected fundamental freedoms” saying that it was “a true success” for Georgia’s democracy. He encouraged the Georgian Prime Minister “to continue his close dialogue with the opposition and Georgian civil society and to govern and advance reforms in an inclusive fashion.”

“I paid tribute to Georgia’s ambitious reform program under the Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (AA/DCFTA), for the benefit of Georgia and EU-Georgia relations. The EU will continue to assist you in this process,” he said.

Donald Tusk thanked Georgia for its contribution to EU crisis management operations.

He expressed concern over the recent ratification of “the so-called agreement between Russia and the Georgian breakaway region of Abkhazia on military cooperation.” “It has no legal status for the European Union,” he said.
“For the EU it is clear that this agreement violates international law, including the principle of the inviolability of Georgia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and internationally recognized borders,” Tusk said.

“We are committed to a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Georgia, including through our co-chairmanship of the Geneva International Discussions and the EU Monitoring Mission,” he added.