Croatian President Zoran Milanovic said today in Tbilisi that the pressure from the European bureaucracy on Georgia is unacceptable and that the accusations that this Caucasian country is an “agent of Moscow“ are incomprehensible, the HINA agency reported, quoted by BTA.
Georgia has no diplomatic relations with Russia and it is difficult to understand why such a country is accused of being an agent of Moscow, the Croatian President said at a joint press conference with his Georgian counterpart Mikhail Kavelashvili at the start of a two-day official visit to Georgia.
Russia and Georgia severed diplomatic relations in 2008 after a war between the two countries, when Moscow recognized the independence of the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Both regions remain heavily dependent on Russia politically, financially, economically and militarily, HINA reminds.
Milanovic said he came to Tbilisi to express solidarity with Georgia in its efforts to preserve its territorial integrity. He added that he was curious to see “which country is accused of pursuing pro-Moscow policies“, noting that in 2025 no EU leader visited Georgia.
Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili, an outspoken critic of the West, was sworn in in late 2024 amid a deep political crisis after the government froze EU accession talks. In Georgia, the president is elected by parliament, HINA recalls.
Pro-European Salome Zurabishvili, who is still considered the legitimate head of state but has been stripped of power since Kavelashvili took office, claims that his election was illegitimate. Kavelashvili's opponents argue that the deputies who voted for him were elected in parliamentary elections that the opposition says were rigged. European observers did not consider the elections in Georgia to be free and fair, the Croatian agency recalls.
Thousands of people have been protesting for months, demanding a return to the pro-European course and a repeat of the elections, in which the national-conservative ruling party "Georgian Dream" was declared the winner. The party, founded by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who made his fortune in Russia, has postponed EU accession talks until 2028, sparking protests across Georgia. Critics say Russia influenced the decision by trying to prevent Georgia from joining the West.
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic said EU ministers attended opposition protests against the government, which he called unacceptable, although he did not specify which ministers.
The EU granted Georgia candidate country status in December 2023 but criticized some laws passed by the “Georgian Dream“, including legislation requiring organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents“, and a law on LGBTQ rights that Brussels considers authoritarian and influenced by Russia.
Georgia has been in a difficult situation for years, and instead of taking this into account when assessing its rapprochement with the EU, the opposite is done: the country is placed in impossible dilemmas in a very cynical way, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic said, quoted by HINA.
At the press conference, Kavelashvili described Croatia as a respected EU member and said Milanovic “is speaking the truth“, according to the Georgian news agency InterPressNews, cited by HINA.
“This is exactly the kind of honest conversation we expect from European bureaucrats and representatives of countries that apply double standards and treat our country differently. Without exaggeration, this is the position of a true, respected leader“, Kavelashvili said.
The Croatian president then met with Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, and later a meeting with Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and a wreath-laying ceremony at the Monument to the Heroes of the Fatherland on “Heroes“ Square are also planned. in Tbilisi.
Croatian business leaders are part of Milanovic's delegation. Heads of large Croatian companies with extensive experience in Western Europe in technologically complex projects are interested in this market, in Georgia and this part of the Caucasus, he said. A business meeting is planned for tomorrow, HINA reported.