On December 16, UK Minister of State for Europe, North America and UK Overseas Territories Stephen Doughty spoke on the phone with Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili. The UK Minister stated that he “reiterated in the clearest terms to Georgian Dream Representative Maka Botchorishvili that police violence and arbitrary arrests in Georgia are unacceptable” and stressed that “UK will consider all options to ensure those responsible are held accountable.”
According to the Georgian Foreign Ministry’s press release, the Ministers discussed recent developments in Georgia and bilateral relations between the two countries. The British Minister of State expressed his concern about ongoing processes in Georgia, “while the Georgian Foreign Minister regretted recent British decisions”, including the postponement of the next round of the Wardrop Strategic Dialogue and the suspension of programmatic support.
The Georgian side emphasized the importance of the suspended Wardrop Strategic Dialogue, expressed hope for the resumption of regular meetings, and stressed the need for an “objective assessment” of the political situation in Georgia.
The MFA press release said that Maka Botchorishvili also spoke about the results of the parliamentary elections in Georgia and the “political speculations” by the opposition. She also discussed the ongoing protests of protests in the country and provided information about “the state’s response to the violations of law observed during the protests”.
The Georgian Foreign Minister said that Georgia remains committed to European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations, stressing its “reliability” as a regional partner. She emphasized the importance of dialogue between Western partners and the Georgian government to address critical issues.
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