Orbán won’t be “best mediator” for Georgia’s EU candidacy as disliked in bloc – opposition MP

Salome Samadashvili, an opposition MP, on Wednesday reacted to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ongoing visit in Tbilisi, and claimed the official would be unable to be the “best mediator” for Georgia’s EU candidacy due to his “pro-Kremlin” sentiments and “isolation” from the bloc. 

 

“Orbán is Putin’s main and, I would say, the only ally within the EU. Orbán is the only leader in the EU, who from time to time tries to block aid to Ukraine, as well as sanctions against Russia”, Samadashvili said. 

 

Describing the current Georgian Dream Government “pro-Russian”, the MP claimed the GD authorities were not fulfilling the bloc’s conditions for candidacy, citing the Venice Commission’S opinion released this week, which welcomed recent judiciary amendments adopted by the Georgian Parliament, but said five of its previous “key recommendations” had not been addressed. 

 

The Hungarian PM arrived in Georgia on a three-day trip on Tuesday. He is scheduled to hold a face-to-face meeting with his Georgian counterpart this afternoon, which will be followed by a joint press briefing. 

 

Orbán calls himself as the “most devoted supporter” of Georgia’s EU integration, with the Georgian Dream authorities also describing him as Tbilisi’s “most vocal” supporter on its Euro-Atlantic path.