Parliament Chairman Shalva Papuashvili Meets with President of Malta George Vella
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Parliament Chairman Shalva Papuashvili held a meeting with George Vella, the President of the Republic of Malta, as reported by the press service of the Georgian Parliament.
Papuashvili and Vella discussed various topics such as the cooperation between the two countries, Russia's aggression towards Ukraine and its impact, the occupied regions of Georgia and the country's efforts towards joining the European Union.
The press service reported that both parties acknowledged the shared European values between Georgia and Malta. Vella also commended Georgia's progress and expressed Malta's support for its European aspirations.
"Today we had a very important meeting with the President of Malta. Just like yesterday the Chairman of the Parliament of Malta, today the President of Malta confirmed Malta's unconditional support for the European integration of Georgia. It can be said that Malta is one of the enthusiastic supporters not only of Georgia's progress towards European integration but also of Georgia's rapid accession to the European Union. As a result of these conversations, we are very grateful to our Maltese colleagues. This is really a great motivation for our people when we have a country that is such an ardent fan of our European path," said the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia.
Vella expressed unwavering support for Georgia's efforts to strengthen its relationship with the European Union. He acknowledged the challenges that Georgia faced, particularly after Russia's invasion in 2008, which resulted in two regions being pro-Russian and almost entirely cut off from the rest of Georgia. The president emphasized that Malta firmly believed in Georgia's place in the European Union and hoped that the country's economic and political progress would enable it to fully benefit from the opportunities offered by the EU. He also expressed respect and support for Georgia's desire to join NATO.
"We have always supported and will support Georgia's aspiration to get closer to the European Union. Especially after 2008, when Russia invaded Georgia. We know that the two regions are pro-Russian and practically separated. We believe that Georgia's place is in the European Union and we hope that, as a result of economic and political development, the country will develop more to take full advantage of what the European Union can offer. This is very important. At the same time, we respect and support Georgia's aspiration to join NATO.
Although we are a neutral state, we respect the wishes of a sovereign state. Now we understand even better what the 2008 war meant to the Georgian people because now we see the same thing happening again in Ukraine. This was also part of the discussion within the framework of the meeting with the Chairman of the Parliament. We now understand much better what happened in Georgia, because practically the same thing is happening in Ukraine.
You asked me what we discussed - unfortunately, we do not have frequent meetings with Georgia and we should have more. We talked about Georgia's situation and its participation in international organizations, such as the OSCE and the Council of Europe. There are no problems between our two countries. I think we can use our relationship more in terms of trade, culture, and people-to-people relations. This was part of my message," said the President of Malta, George Vella.
