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President Salome Zurabishvili Meets German Counterpart in Berlin Ahead of Elections


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On September 30, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin, where she arrived following a visit to Paris. The day before, Zurabishvili met with the Georgian diaspora in the German capital.

“During the meeting in Berlin, the President of Georgia spoke with the President of the Federal Republic of Germany about the pre-election environment in the country, which is inspired by Russia, as well as about the Georgian diaspora, which faces artificial barriers to participation in the elections,” the official press release of the Georgian presidential administration says.

“The President also raised the issue of creating problems for non-governmental organizations, which implies hindering their monitoring missions,” the press release adds.

The Georgian President reaffirmed to her colleague “the steady mood” of the Georgians, saying that the entire Georgian population is pro-European and that “the foreign orientation of the Georgian people was, is and will be European.”

The German President welcomed the Georgian Charter, a roadmap document initiated by Zurabishvili to bring Georgia back on the EU path. “He expressed his support for the victory of pro-European forces in Georgia,” the press release reads. He also expressed his full support for the Georgian people and their struggle for a European future.

“German President Steinmeier met with Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili in Berlin today. He thanked for her clear pro-European attitude and lamented Georgia’s setbacks in the EU accession process. The Georgian government is endangering a historic opportunity,” German Ambassador to Georgia Peter Fischer tweeted.

A day earlier, on September 29, President Salome Zurabishvili met with the Georgian diaspora in Berlin. Among the topics discussed were the Georgian Charter and the existential importance of the upcoming elections.

“Bringing the parties together and getting them to sign the Georgian Charter was not easy, but I think they were eventually convinced that this was the right way – at this moment, when we have neither the opportunity, nor the time, nor the environment to hold the casual elections where people vote for certain parties. This looks more like a referendum,” Zurabishvili said at the meeting.

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