Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist met Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and counterpart Juansher Burchuladze today in Tbilisi.
The discussions between Minister Hultqvist and President Zurabishvili covered Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and Swedish-Georgian defense cooperation, the Defense Ministry of Sweden tweeted.
President Zurabishvili said on her part that it is very important how Sweden and Georgia “both view the terrible war in Ukraine, the regional situation, the future of the Black Sea, but also the window of opportunity that is our European integration.”
The Swedish Defense Minister and PM Garibashvili focused on Georgia’s EU membership application, the Georgian Government’s press office reported. PM Garibashvili stressed the importance of the partners’ support to Georgia in this regard.
Meanwhile, regional security environment, existing challenges in this context and Russia’s war against Ukraine were the topic of discussion in the Swedish Defense Minister’s meeting with his Georgian counterpart.
The Ministers stressed that Russia’s actions in Ukraine grossly violate fundamental principles and norms of international law and threaten Euro-Atlantic security, the Georgian Defense Ministry reported.
They also touched upon existing cooperation in defense and stressed the need for further deepening partnerships in bilateral and multilateral formats.
“Amid the current challenges, the visit by Swedish Defense Minister in Georgia once again highlights the strategic importance of Georgia for Europe, Euro-Atlantic security,” Defense Minister Burchuladze said in brief remarks about the meeting.
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NB: This article was updated at 19:22, April 6 with details about the Swedish Defense Minister’s subsequent meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.
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