On October 26, Georgia held parliamentary elections, which the ruling party won by a landslide.Continue reading
“The usual whiners and official fear mongers have wasted no time” in the Georgian elections, as a dozen of EU countries cannot understand that democracy is about the will of the people and that the country’s government is not appointed from Brussels, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Tbilisi on Tuesday.
As Hungary Today reported, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his delegation traveled to Georgia on Monday to pay an official visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze. The Hungarian delegation includes Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, Márton Nagy, Minister for National Economy, and Finance Minister Mihály Varga. The visit is of particular relevance as on October 26, Georgia held parliamentary elections, which the ruling Georgian Dream party won by a landslide.
Ahead of his meeting with his Georgian counterpart Ilia Darchiashvili on Tuesday, Mr. Szijjártó wrote in a Facebook post about the elections in the South Caucasus country that “the 13 European foreign ministers still cannot understand that democracy is about the will of the people,” and the ruling government is “not appointed from Brussels.”
Unfortunately, the 13 foreign ministers have once again demonstrated that the liberal mainstream believes that a country is a democracy only if the liberal party wins the election,”
the Minister added.
Péter Szijjártó pointed out that Hungary has been facing similar external attacks for 14 years. “However, the task is still not to meet Brussels’ expectations, but to fulfill the will of the people. This is also the case with the Georgian government, with which we will continue to work closely in the future to develop our relations and accelerate European integration,” he said.
Following the foreign ministers’ meeting, Szijjártó called it shameful that those involved refuse to accept the outcome in Georgia and take away the right and maturity of the country’s citizens to decide their own future. “It is time for everyone in Brussels to get used to the fact that Brussels is not the source of the appointment of governments in the European Union and beyond,” he said.
The Minister noted that it was a great achievement that the Georgian government had been able to guarantee peace in the country despite the known circumstances and the known geopolitical and regional context. “Since this ruling party has been at the helm of the country, there has been no war, no armed conflict, showing that if you make the effort, if you really want peace, you can achieve it,” he explained.
Mr. Szijjártó underlined that
Georgia and Hungary have been in strategic partnership for several years, which is reflected in results.
He said that European energy security and the green transition depend to a large extent on Azeri-Georgian-Romanian-Hungarian cooperation, as the four countries recently agreed to import green energy produced in the Caucasus to Central Europe through a world record length submarine pipeline. The politician added that a joint venture between the four countries had already been set up, with its headquarters in Bucharest and an Azeri CEO, and that the feasibility study for the project would be completed by the end of the year, from which time work could begin on the technical, implementation, and financial plans.
He also noted that
Hungary is aware that EU integration is a very complex process, therefore the government is ready to share its experience and has signed an agreement to train 50 Georgian public administration professionals at the Hungarian Diplomatic Academy.
On Tuesday morning, Viktor Orbán also checked in from Georgia, where he was received by his Georgian counterpart Irakli Kobakhidze. “One thing is clear about this weekend’s elections: the people of Georgia voted for peace and prosperity in free and democratic elections. We are here to support Georgia’s European integration efforts and to strengthen Hungarian-Georgian relations,” he wrote on X.
Official visit to #Georgia. One thing is clear about this weekend’s elections: the people of Georgia voted for peace and prosperity in free and democratic elections. We are here to support Georgia’s European integration efforts and to strengthen relations.
Thank you for… pic.twitter.com/JuaW7yZN8A
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) October 29, 2024
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán