TBILISI (Realist English). Georgia will not participate in the upcoming European Union foreign ministers’ meeting on connectivity, scheduled for October 20 in Luxembourg, after rejecting what it described as an inappropriate invitation sent at ambassadorial rather than ministerial level.
The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the EU External Action Service had invited foreign ministers from Central Asia and Eastern Partnership states – including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan – but addressed Georgia’s invitation only to its ambassador.
“This is unacceptable and incomprehensible,” the ministry said, calling the EU’s approach a disregard for both “geopolitical and simple geographic reality.” The statement added that Georgia’s participation in discussions on regional security and cooperation “serves the interests of EU member states themselves.”
Officials in Tbilisi warned that the move “fuels political speculation and encourages a radical agenda domestically.” They voiced hope that most EU states “recognize Georgia’s role in connectivity between Europe and Asia” and do not share the stance of the EU’s diplomatic service.
Relations between Georgia and the EU have sharply deteriorated since Tbilisi adopted a controversial “foreign agents” law in 2024, which Brussels likened to Russian-style restrictions on civil society. In response, the EU froze Georgia’s integration process, reduced financial assistance and suspended high-level political contacts. The Georgian government dismissed these measures as “blackmail” and announced it would not return to membership talks before 2028. The decision triggered mass protests across the country, which were forcefully dispersed by police.
