Freshly appointed Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili attended today the NATO Foreign Ministerial in Brussels, where he also held face-to-face meetings with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and top diplomats of the Netherlands and Turkey.
The Georgian FM participated in the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in the Foreign Ministers’ session alongside colleagues from Ukraine, Finland, Sweden, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
During the session, FM Darchiashvili said he focused on “Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic path and existing challenges across the region.”
In the meeting with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg following the Ministerial, FM Darchiashvili stressed the importance of NATO’s continued support for Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration, the Foreign Ministry reported.
In their introductory meeting, the two officials exchanged views on the existing security environment in the region, as per the report.
Pleased to meet with NATO SG @jensstoltenberg within the scope of the NATO Foreign Ministerial Meeting. His personal support for 🇬🇪's European and Euro-Atlantic integration is much appreciated. Looking forward for strengthening bonds between Georgia and the Alliance. pic.twitter.com/Un7RENLu5q
— Ilia Darchiashvili (@iliadarch) April 7, 2022
Also on April 7, the Georgian Foreign Ministry stated that top diplomat Darchiashvili and Turkish FM Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu discussed “the crisis in Ukraine,” and Ankara’s efforts in the peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow.
The top diplomats also talked about further deepening trade and economic ties, according to the Foreign Ministry.
“I once again reiterated how much we value Turkey’s firm support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as for Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration,” FM Darchiashvili tweeted about the meeting.
#Gürcistan Dışişleri Bakanı Ilia Darchiashvili'yi yeni görevi için tebrik ettik, ilişkilerimizi ele aldık. Gürcistan’ın toprak bütünlüğüne desteğimiz tam.
Congratulated new FM @iliadarch of #Georgia & discussed our relations. Full support to territorial integrity of Georgia.🇹🇷🇬🇪 pic.twitter.com/KsMfk24O8K
— Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) April 7, 2022
Meanwhile, FM Darchiashvili and Dutch counterpart Wopke Hoekstra discussed Georgia’s EU membership application and the situation in the Russian-occupied regions of Tskhinvali/South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Chief diplomat Darchiashvili expressed his hope that the Netherlands will back Georgia’s European aspirations, the Georgian Foreign Ministry reported. The Dutch FM on his part expressed the Netherlands’ readiness to step up cooperation with the Eastern Partnership countries.
Also, FM Darchiashvili said he had a brief exchange with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, with the sides agreeing to “continue close communication.”
Georgia’s new Foreign Minister is paying his first visit in the capacity to Brussels on April 6-8. On the first day of the trip, FM Darchiashvili held a meeting with Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
FM Darchiashvili replaced David Zalkaliani, who stepped down as the Foreign Minister on April 4 to become Georgia’s Ambassador to the U.S.
Also Read:
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- Georgia Participates in NATO Defense Ministerial
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)