Georgian PM: Georgia ready to reset relations with Ukraine - further steps depend on practical actions

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday said that discussions were held with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on improving bilateral relations, but stressed that any “reset” would depend on concrete actions following previous diplomatic tensions.

In his remarks, Kobakhidze argued that relations between the two governments had worsened due to specific actions.

“We had a conversation with the President of Ukraine, including a discussion on the importance of resetting relations. The rest, of course, depends on practical steps”, Kobakhidze said.

“You know that there were specific steps that worsened relations between the governments. Of course, this cannot affect relations between the countries or between the peoples, which have a strong historical foundation. However, due to specific actions, relations between the governments deteriorated - this included the issue of recalling the ambassador, effectively the expulsion of our ambassador, and the issue of imposing sanctions”, he continued.

The Prime Minister also referred to past statements from Ukrainian officials regarding the idea of opening a “second front”, describing these as serious developments that negatively affected relations at the government level.

“The [Ukrainian] ambassador was recalled from our country because we did not impose sanctions [against Russia] and did not send volunteer fighters to Ukraine with official government approval. After that, you remember calls from Ukrainian officials regarding the opening of a second front. Of course, these were extremely serious steps that worsened relations between the governments. If there is interest, we are fully ready to reset relations between our governments”, he concluded.