German Foreign Minister Advices Georgia to Conduct Justice Reform
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, July 4
The German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas spoke about Georgia’s reforms, said that the country should continue the democratic advancement and carry out genuine reforms in the court system.
Maas said that Germany is ready to support Georgia’s democratic development.
The statement came after Maas’ meeting with his Georgian counterpart in Berlin on late Monday.
The Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani welcomed the initiative of the government of Germany to take further steps of cooperation with the countries of the Eastern Partnership which have European values and a European approach to statehood.
“The words by the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas are a clear recognition of Georgia as a European country,” Zalkaliani stated after meeting with his German counterpart.
“Our progress and democratic transformation are commonly appreciated by our partners, Germany among them,” Zalkaliani stated.
He said that Georgia and Germany have a "very fruitful cooperation” for Georgia’s European integration.
We highly appreciate Germany's role in Georgia’s European integration and the country’s support for the Georgia-EU visa free waiver,” Zalkaliani said.
Zalkaliani stated that one of the top issues of the meeting was the upcoming summit.
“As we all know, based on the decision of the NATO Bucharest Summit, Georgia will become a NATO member. During the meeting with my German colleague I paid particular attention to the upcoming NATO summit and the importance of the appropriate evaluation of Georgia’s progress towards the alliance.
We welcome that Germany recognises Georgia’s merit in the strengthening of Euro-Atlantic security,” Zalkaliani said.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry reported that Zalkaliani and Maas also spoke about Georgia’s role in Black Sea security, the Georgian occupied territories and Russia's illegal actions on Georgian territories,and about the government’s initiatives for peaceful resolution of the conflict.
The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint initiative involving the EU, its Member States and six Eastern European Partners: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.
Zalkaliani is scheduled to complete his German trip on July 5.
