TBILISI, January 27. /TASS/. The European Union's decision to suspend the visa-free regime for Georgian diplomats holds little significance and is largely symbolic, Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists.
"Personally, I do not see anything particularly significant in this [suspension of visa-free regime for diplomats]. This is just a minor procedural and symbolic step. First and foremost, the country's peace and the welfare of our people should be safe. <...> We can access the European Union with or without a visa. This [decision] does not appear to have any major implications," Kobakhidze said.
EU foreign ministers decided to suspend visa-free travel for officials and diplomats from Georgia at a meeting in Brussels on January 27.
Georgia's relations with the EU and the US began to deteriorate after the republic's parliament passed a foreign agent law last May. At the end of 2024, the Georgian legislature also passed a legislation prohibiting LGBT propaganda. Because of these two laws, the West believed that Georgia had distanced itself from European values and diverted from the path of EU integration. After that, the US and EU countries began to impose sanctions against representatives of the Georgian authorities.
Relations with Georgia deteriorated after the parliamentary elections that took place on October 26, 2024. The ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party won the elections, but the opposition and former President Salome Zourabichvili rejected the legitimacy of the results. Since November 4, opponents of the government have been holding rallies demanding new elections.