President Zoran Milanović begins a two-day official visit to Georgia

To the chagrin of many in Brussels, the Croatian President has opted to maintain relations with Tbilisi in spite of Georgia’s decision to not bend the knee to the European Commission’s demands regarding economic and political relations with Moscow.

President Zoran Milanović opened his official two-day visit to Georgia on Thursday, where after meeting with the heads of Georgian Government and Parliament, he was received by his host, President Mikheil Kavelashvili. Along with bilateral relations, the focus of discussion was also on Georgia's European integration, which has been blocked by Brussels over Tbilisi's refusal to impose sanctions on Russia. As such President Kavelashvili welcomed the Croatian President’s visit as a clear sign that some global leaders still believed in diplomacy and dialogue over threats and manipulation.

"It is extremely important to emphasize that the enlargement of the European Union and the enlargement policy must not be an instrument of manipulation, which is what European bureaucrats are sometimes prone to. Fortunately, there are countries that do not turn a blind eye to the unfair treatment of Georgia and instead of the aggressive rhetoric of European bureaucrats, these countries prefer diplomacy and dialogue. For this reason, I would like to thank my colleague, the President of the Republic of Croatia, who is dedicated to these values," Kavelashvili said.

For his part President Milanović noted that neither he nor Croatia would be gagged by Brussels: "Georgia has been in an unenviable situation for years and instead of taking this into account when evaluating Georgia's move towards the EU the opposite is being done, and in fact the country is being cynically confronted with impossible demands. Leading this charge are the group the president referred to as the European or Brussels bureaucracy. However, since they do not speak on my behalf, nor will I allow them to speak on my behalf or on Croatia's behalf, I have come here to Georgia and to Tbilisi."

Source: HRT