Prepared by Messenger Staff
Georgian Dream MPs Ask Luxembourg to Push for EU Dialogue Renewal
Georgian Dream lawmakers are lobbying EU member states to press Brussels for resumed talks with Tbilisi, with Nikoloz Samkharadze, chair of the foreign relations committee of Georgian Dream Parliament, saying the ruling party is "ready to discuss critical issues, including the law that was the formal reason for suspending dialogue between the EU and Georgia."
Samkharadze made the remarks on June 16 after meeting officials at Luxembourg's parliament and foreign ministry alongside fellow GD MP Levan Makhashvili. He said the Luxembourgish side "took our position quite constructively" and expressed hope that Luxembourg would "support the renewal of dialogue with Georgia" in discussions among EU member states.
The law he referenced is the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, adopted in May 2024 and widely known as the Foreign Agents Law, which critics say was modeled on Russian legislation targeting civil society. The EU suspended high-level contacts with Georgian authorities that same month, citing the law among other factors, including the ruling party's sharpening anti-Western rhetoric.
Relations have continued to deteriorate since. The EU said in November that Georgia is a candidate country "in name only" and suspended visa-free travel for Georgian diplomatic and service passport holders in February. On June 11, Georgian and EU officials met in Brussels for an enhanced dialogue session triggered automatically by the visa suspension, with the Georgian side describing the outcome as "positive" while an EU official called the talks "rather unfruitful."
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in April that genuine engagement in human rights dialogue would be the minimum signal of willingness to change course, while Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said Brussels can include Georgia in regional connectivity projects only "to the extent that they also show that they want to engage on other areas."
Putin's Cultural Envoy Visits Tbilisi, Talks "Restoring Trust" Between Georgia and Russia
Vladimir Putin's Special Representative for International Cultural Cooperation, Mikhail Shvydkoy, visited Tbilisi on June 14 and 15, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
Shvydkoy attended screenings of filmed performances of "The Circus Princess" and "Reverse" and spoke publicly about the role of culture in warming relations between the two countries. "I think culture is the sphere that can, step by step, without any forceful measures, restore the atmosphere of trust that existed between our countries," he said, as quoted by TASS. "And Peoples are always drawn to each other. We have very deep ties."
He described the screenings as "extremely attractive" for current contacts with Georgian audiences and said Russia wants "to present to Georgia, as far as possible, contemporary Russian art, contemporary Russian painting, cinema, and performances by artists," adding that any such events would be "only what is comfortable for our Georgian partners." He also noted that Georgian performers are active in Russia, with large ensembles regularly touring there.
It was Shvydkoy's second visit to Georgia in recent months. He also attended the funeral of the late Patriarch Ilia II on March 22.
Asked about Shvydkoy's visit, Speaker of Georgia's disputed parliament Shalva Papuashvili said he did not know "who was where," but that anyone is free to visit Georgia if they have no issue with Georgian legislation. He added that Georgia's position on broader relations with Russia remains unchanged: "There will be cultural relations, economic relations, educational relations, there will be all kinds of relations once the de-occupation of Georgia takes place."
