UK MPs Meet Georgian PM, Lawmakers

A bipartisan delegation of the UK House of Commons, led by MP Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative) on April 5 held meetings with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and lawmakers of the ruling Georgian Dream and opposition parties in Tbilisi.

The delegation also included MPs Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Timmothy Loughton and Mark Pawsey of the Conservative party and Jessica Morden and Judith Cummins of Labor.

In lawmakers’ with PM Garibashvili, the sides focused on strategic partnership between the two countries, reforms of the judiciary and electoral system in Georgia and Russia’s war against Ukraine, the Georgian Government’s press office reported.

The Georgian PM highlighted the role of the international community, including the UK in ensuring the security of Eastern Europe and stressed that cooperation between the UK and Georgia became especially important amid the existing challenges.

Also on April 5, MP Jonathan Djanogly held an expanded meeting with MP Irakli Kobakhidze, the chair of the ruling GD party. The focus of the talks was the security situation in the region and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the Georgian Parliament’s press service said.

“We discussed the ongoing developments in Ukraine and Georgia’s stance on them, and the potential impact of these events on Georgia,” GD chair Kobakhidze remarked afterward.

Asked by reporters if the discussion touched upon international sanctions against Russia, MP Kobakhidze said at the meeting “there was only an explanation on our part about why Georgia takes a specific stance in various directions, including on sanctions.”

The parliamentary delegation from the UK also sat down with opposition MPs Khatia Dekanoidze of the United National Movement, Davit Usupashvili of Lelo, Teona Akubardia of Strategy Aghmashenebeli, Levan Ioseliani of Citizens party and Pridon Injia of European Socialists.

Vice-Speaker Ioseliani said after the meeting that the lawmakers were interested in the opposition’s point of view on the quality of democracy in Georgia. He added that Georgian opposition lawmakers stressed the importance of judiciary reforms and power-sharing in the Parliament.

Following the meetings in Tbilisi, MP Djanogly said today in a tweet that “with next door Russia and Ukraine, it’s a tough neighborhood right now and a good time to be showing our support to Georgia and our shared strong democratic values.”

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