Kobakhidze: Georgia’s Special Representative for Russia Will Continue to Operate Within His Official Mandate

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has said that Giorgi Zurabashvili, the Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Relations with Russia, operates within his official mandate and will continue to do so, while stressing that the Russian occupation of 20% of Georgia’s territory remains a fundamental obstacle to restoring diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Speaking to journalists in Brussels, Kobakhidze dismissed suggestions that Zurabashvili was involved in informal diplomatic discussions, insisting that his activities were conducted exclusively within an officially established framework.

“Mr. Giorgi Zurabashvili does not participate in any informal format. He operates within a formal framework established by our side. He is the Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Relations with Russia and acts in accordance with this official mandate, as he will continue to do in the future,” Kobakhidze said.

The Prime Minister also addressed the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Moscow, emphasizing that Russia’s continued occupation of Georgian territories represents a fundamental barrier to such a move.

“As for diplomatic relations, you are aware that there is a natural obstacle, and that obstacle is linked to the occupation of 20% of our country’s territory. Consequently, the issue is not under consideration given this barrier,” he said.

Kobakhidze added that the Georgian government’s current approach reflects the existing political and territorial realities.

“This is the situation as it stands today, and we are acting in accordance with these realities,” the Prime Minister stated.

Georgia and Russia have had no formal diplomatic relations since 2008, following the Russia-Georgia war and Moscow’s subsequent recognition of the occupied Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states.