Kyiv wants to 'open new page' in relations with Georgia, says Ukrainian FM

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on Georgia

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv was ready to continue efforts to normalise relations with Georgia despite political tensions between the two countries in recent years.

Relations between Ukraine and Georgia deteriorated sharply in 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, although tensions had existed earlier, including over the imprisonment of former Georgian president and Ukrainian citizen Mikheil Saakashvili. Tbilisi accused Kyiv of trying to drag Georgia into the war and used images of destroyed Ukrainian cities in domestic political campaigns. In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the ruling Georgian Dream party was serving Russian interests. He also imposed sanctions on the party’s founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and other senior officials.

Andrii Sybiha said that although “sensitive issues” remained, Ukraine was ready to move forward and continue dialogue. He added that both sides wanted to “open a new chapter” in bilateral relations.

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“We want to open a new chapter in relations with our Georgian partners. Our leaders held a historic meeting in Yerevan. It was a good exchange of views. We are open to continuing this constructive dialogue.

“In the near future, I will meet my Georgian counterpart in Moldova. We want to put our bilateral diplomatic relations back on track. Our peoples and societies deserve this,” Andrii Sybiha said in Brussels ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council in response to journalists’ questions.

He added that during a phone call on 6 May, he and Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili agreed on the importance of normalising relations.

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The prime minister said Tbilisi was ready to take “all reasonable steps” to restore relations between the two countries.

Contacts between representatives of the two countries have intensified in recent months. Maka Botchorishvili and Andrii Sybiha met in Yerevan during the European Political Community summit. The event also included a meeting between Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian side initiated both meetings.

Ukraine also recently appointed an ambassador to Georgia after the post remained vacant for almost four years. Kyiv recalled its ambassador to Georgia, Igor Dolgov, for consultations in March 2022, before later returning him to Tbilisi. Ukraine cited Georgia’s position on sanctions against Russia and on Georgian volunteers fighting in Ukraine.

The position of Georgia’s ambassador to Ukraine had remained vacant since July 2023. At the time, ambassador Giorgi Zakaraishvili was summoned to the foreign ministry in Kyiv amid diplomatic tensions and soon left the country.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on Georgia