Zourabichvili and Zelensky agree on working on a joint strategy to combat Russian occupation
On 1 September, on the sidelines of the 80th anniversary of World War 2 (Caucasus Watch reported), Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed on drafting a joint strategy to combat the Russian occupation of the territories of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia), Abkhazia and Crimea, reported agenda.ge.
“Zelensky did not only invite me to Ukraine, but also offered to work on a joint document which will help us resolve conflicts and take genuine steps towards the EU,” Zourabichvili said. The Georgian President also met with the Prime Minister of Belgium and Charles Michel, the president-elect of the EU Council were they also spoke about the occupation issue in Georgia.
Georgia and Ukraine harbour close political ties since the collapse of the Soviet Union. After the restoration of independence, Georgia's second president Eduard Shevardnadze and Leonid Kravchuk, the first president of Ukraine defined the relations between the two countries as a “strategic partnership”. This term is still used to this day to describe the official Georgian-Ukrainian relations. In July 2017, former Georgian President Georgi Margvelashvili and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed the Declaration on Strategic Partnership. This document provided mutual support for sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as foreseeing the formation of mechanisms and institutions which would coordinate actions in the security sector between the two countries. In 1997 the two countries, together with Moldova and Azerbaijan, formed the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM), a regional organization with the main goals of strengthening democratic values, ensuring the supremacy of law and respect for human rights; ensuring sustainable development; strengthening international and regional security and stability; deepening European integration for the creation of a common security space and the enlargement of economic and humanitarian cooperation; developing of socio-economic, transport, energy, scientific, technical and humanitarian potential; stimulating of political interaction and practical cooperation in fields of mutual interest. Ukraine is considered as the closest ally to Georgia, according to public opinion polls (Caucasus Watch reported).