Britain Freezes the Wardrop Dialogue
The British Ambassador to Georgia, Gareth Ward, told Interpressnews that due to the actions of the ruling “Georgian Dream” party, the decision has been made to freeze the strategic Wardrop Dialogue for the first time in 10 years. This dialogue is conducted annually at the ministerial level between the Kingdom and Georgia. Additionally, the British side has canceled planned high-level negotiations in the defense sector and suspended the cybersecurity program.
The Wardrop Strategic Dialogue is the main platform for interaction between Georgia and the United Kingdom, covering virtually all areas of cooperation: political dialogue, foreign policy issues, defense and security, trade and economic relations, education and culture, as well as people-to-people contacts.
Since 2014, delegations from the two countries have discussed progress in their relations and annually reviewed areas for future cooperation.
As the ambassador noted in an interview, the actions of the Georgian government this year have worsened relations with Western partners:
“We were concerned when the parliament passed a law restricting the activities of civil society, despite significant resistance from the public and a commitment not to return this law to the agenda.
We were disappointed when the leaders of ‘Georgian Dream’ began promoting conspiracy theories and suggesting that Western partners were undermining Georgia. We were shocked when ‘Georgian Dream’ included a promise to ban opposition parties in its electoral program.
For these reasons, for the first time in 10 years, we, the British side, decided to freeze the annual high-level ‘Wardrop Dialogue’ between ministers. This has happened for the first time since the establishment of this dialogue format. We also canceled planned high-level negotiations between defense staffs and suspended a new cybersecurity program. After the elections, regardless of who will be in government, we hope to see clear evidence of a return to the Euro-Atlantic path to restore trust and return to a close partnership.”
On October 14, Reuters published an article stating that European Union leaders intend to warn Georgia ahead of the elections that the actions of its government are jeopardizing the country’s path to EU integration.
According to the draft final document, the bloc reaffirms its readiness to support “the Georgian people on their European path,” but also expresses “serious concern” regarding the actions of the Georgian government.
Notably, on October 14, a meeting of EU foreign ministers took place. Following the meeting, EU High Representative Josep Borrell held a press conference where he stated, among other things, that the situation in Georgia looks much worse compared to Moldova.