The Parliament, under the interpellation procedure, heard the Foreign Affairs Minister, Maka Botchorishvili. Members of the parliamentary faction “For Georgia” addressed the Minister with 19 questions.

The questions concerned Georgia’s foreign policy, relations with the European Union, security, and issues related to international sanctions: “It is false to claim that ‘Georgian Dream’ unilaterally suspended the EU integration process until 2028. ‘Georgian Dream’ has never halted the EU integration process; on the contrary, as a result of the consistent policy of the ‘Georgian Dream’ government, we can confidently state that today Georgia is much closer to European standards in various areas than other candidate countries”.

According to her, since 2014, as the EU associated partner, Georgia has achieved significant progress in all areas, as confirmed by all European Commission reports published in Brussels up to 2025.

Maka Botchorishvili noted that political dialogue with Georgia was suspended in 2024 by a decision taken in Brussels. She emphasized that the decision to open accession negotiations with a candidate country is taken by the Council of the European Union, not by the candidate country itself. As the Minister stated, Georgia is ready to begin negotiations with the EU as soon as the EU Council makes its decision; however, this requires the EU bureaucracy to return to fulfilling its obligations under the Association Agreement and to resume the political dialogue with Georgia that was suspended in 2024.

“Otherwise, any expressed concern regarding the European future of the Georgian people cannot be considered sincere and will only serve to polarize Georgian society, which cannot be perceived or assessed by us as a friendly approach”, - stated Maka Botchorishvili.

According to the Minister, the European Commission’s 2024 Enlargement Report, which assesses Georgia’s European integration process, demonstrates how advanced Georgia is compared to other candidate countries in meeting accession criteria.

She added that the desire to obscure this progress explains why, during the preparation of the 2025 Enlargement Report, the European Commission refrained from assessing Georgia in areas where its progress could have been demonstrated.

Maka Botchorishvili spoke about what she described as unfair approaches toward Georgia. According to her, the refusal to grant Georgia EU candidate status in June 2022, while granting it to Ukraine and Moldova, was unjust. She also described as unfair the decision to suspend visa-free travel arrangements for holders of diplomatic passports: “The policy of ‘disengagement’ from Georgia is unjustified and lacks common sense, especially when accompanied by claims of concern for the European aspirations of the Georgian people”.

The Minister further noted that allegations regarding so-called anti-Western or anti-European rhetoric are part of a broader propaganda effort and coordinated campaign, including deliberate foreign information manipulation and interference, aimed against Georgia and its national interests: “We have prepared an extensive compilation containing resolutions, various documents, and statements authored by foreign politicians, international organizations, so-called civil society actors, and, in some cases, foreign ambassadors. These resolutions and statements are often directed against the government elected by the citizens of the country and constitute attacks on the country’s legitimate authorities, which are defending national interests”.

According to Maka Botchorishvili, none of the laws and regulations adopted by the Parliament of Georgia in 2024–2025, aimed at preventing foreign interference in politics and ensuring transparency of foreign influence, have been suspended.

The Minister also addressed Georgia’s strategic partnership with the United States: “It is encouraging that the approaches of President Donald Trump’s administration regarding issues that had caused a certain setback in Georgia–U.S. relations give us hope that these approaches will positively impact the process of resetting relations between Georgia and the US”.

Responding to questions related to security, she emphasized that the Government of Georgia has declared a policy of peaceful conflict resolution. She noted that international mechanisms and instruments are consistently used to inform the international community and ensure responses to Russia’s unlawful actions. Addressing questions on international sanctions, Maka Botchorishvili stated that the Government of Georgia promptly implemented relevant measures to ensure compliance with sanctions regimes and to prevent the use of Georgia for sanctions circumvention, and continues to successfully pursue this policy: “Despite the fact that no instances of sanctions circumvention using Georgian territory have been recorded, attacks against Georgia continue, both from internal actors and external forces”.

According to the Minister, Georgia remains a target for certain forces seeking to undermine the country’s national interests, peace, and security: “In this context, the Government’s efforts to defend national interests are not easy; however, we can state with confidence that we have successfully managed to maintain peace and security in the country amid a highly complex geopolitical environment and to create appropriate conditions for stable economic development and prosperity”.

Following the Maka Bochorishvili’s address, the interpellation continued in a question-and-answer format.