Kobakhidze calls suspension of visa-free travel for diplomats an anti-Georgian move

The decision of the European Union (EU) to impose restrictions on Georgian diplomatic passports is unfriendly. This was stated by the country's Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on December 17.

The day before, on December 16, EU Head of Diplomacy Kaja Kallas announced that the EU had decided to suspend visa-free regime for Georgian diplomats. According to her, EU ministers also discussed the issue of imposing sanctions on officials from Georgia, but could not come to a unified decision.

"Of course, this is also an extremely unfriendly, anti-Georgian step. There is hope that eventually the positions of some politicians and bureaucrats in the EU will change," Kobakhidze responded to a journalist's relevant question. His words are quoted by the First Channel of Georgian TV.

The Georgian Prime Minister thanked Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, Italy, Spain and Romania, which spoke out against imposing sanctions on Georgia.

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Georgia's relations with the EU escalated after Tbilisi on November 28 refused to negotiate accession to the European Union - the ruling party postponed them until the end of 2028. For the same period Georgia refused "any EU budget grants". After this decision, protests were held in different cities.

Against this background, the U.S. State Department suspended partnership with the Georgian side and announced its readiness to impose new sanctions. The French Foreign Ministry accused the Georgian authorities of "repression", Latvia banned entry of 13 citizens of the country, and Ukraine imposed sanctions against 19 Georgian politicians.

Later, on December 14, presidential elections were held in Georgia. As a result, Georgian presidential candidate Mikhail Kavelashvili of the Georgian Dream party won the necessary 200 votes. Back on December 13, incumbent Georgian leader Salome Zurabishvili noted that she would not leave the presidential palace when her term of office expired.

On May 14, the Georgian parliament passed the law on foreign agents in its third and final reading. Zurabishvili later said that she intends to veto the adopted bill. The situation around the law provoked a wave of protests as well as Western reaction. The EC and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said in a joint statement that the adoption of the law on foreign agents by the Georgian authorities would have a negative impact on the country's integration into the European Union.