EPRC’s Gigiadze welcomes EU paper referencing Russian troop withdrawal from Georgia’s occupied territories

Senior Research Fellow at Georgia’s Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) Gigi Gigiadze has described as “very interesting and important” a European Union working paper led by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, which references the withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia’s occupied territories.

Gigiadze said the document demonstrates that Europe maintains a consistent position of not recognising new borders created by force.

He said the paper clearly outlines how the EU views the geopolitical reality on the European continent and reaffirms that the bloc does not intend to recognise territories seized by Russia or revise internationally recognised borders.

Gigiadze noted that the mention of Russian troop withdrawal from Georgia’s occupied regions is particularly significant and said Europe’s continued attention to Georgia deserves acknowledgment.

“I think it is a very interesting document. It explicitly mentions the withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia’s occupied territories. We should thank Kallas for the fact that Europe remembers Georgia,” he said.

The European Union, under Kallas’s leadership, has circulated a working document addressing conditions for negotiations with Russia, including the issue of withdrawing Russian forces from Georgia’s occupied regions.