Georgian President Meets Her Italian Counterpart
By Khatia Bzhalava
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili is visiting Italy for meetings with officials, the Presidential Administration has announced. During her stay, Zourabichvili is scheduled to meet with her Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Senate Speaker Maria Elisabetta Casellati, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Roberto Fico, and Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri.
President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili was welcomed in Rome on Tuesday with a ceremony at the Quirinal Palace of the city. As the Georgian President’s press office reports, the officials later held face-to-face and expanded meetings and made joint statements to the media.
“A great chance to bring our historical ties to a new level. Cultural ties that date back thousands of years,” the Georgian President tweeted, adding that “Georgia and Italy are historical partners and my State Visit is an opportunity to reaffirm the values and principles that bring us closer together.”
According to the Georgian President, Georgia and Italy count the centuries-long relations cooperating through knowing each other’s culture and civilization. She also pointed out that this year Georgia and Italy mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations. The Treaty of Rome, signed 65 years ago, on 25 March 1957, established the European Economic Community (EEC). According to her, Georgian emigrant and Strasbourg University Professor Mikheil Muskhelishvili was the one who wrote the First European Federal Constitution.
Within the framework of the meeting between Georgian and Italian Presidents, the issue of Georgia’s European integration was discussed. According to Italian President Sergio Mattarella the fact that Georgia aspires to join European Union is “quite natural” given that the country is already part of “European civilization”. The President also stressed that Italy supported the aspiration of the country and added that the Russian aggression had further accelerated the partnership between Georgia and Europe, “a joint effort to maintain peace in the region.”
Touching upon the war in Ukraine, the Italian President stressed at the joint conference that Tbilisi and Rome had a common stance on the issues of international politics, which is the condemnation of war, peaceful coexistence, and the recognition of the country's sovereignty.
The Italian President also focused on the Georgian territories occupied by Russia and stressed that Italy did not recognize the de facto occupation of Georgian territories by Russia. Matarella once again highlighted his country’s support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
