On 25 December, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili was interviewed by the Georgian channel 1TV where she suggested that the political negotiation format between Georgia and Russia should be based on the Normandy Four format which is implemented in the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

“It would be good to have a Normandy-type format where Georgia will be represented together with partners, since we do not have the power to negotiate alone ... we need that support. Ukraine, for example, is a part of this format and does not hold direct negotiations. Maybe, the time will come when a direct relationship [with Russia] will become necessary,” she said. 

According to Zourabichvili, the dialogue and negotiations do not mean that Georgia will make concessions. She reiterated the importance of maintaining the existing contacts with Russia, such as talks in Geneva and Prague, albeit saying that they were technical in nature and actually fruitless. “We have been stuck in these technical formats; they continue, but nothing changes. Initially, I demanded that work should be launched to revive the political dimension of the Geneva format, because Geneva began as political level talks and then descended to a technical level,” she added.

The president stated she knew of only two ways to solve problems, war and diplomacy. Georgia, however, was going "the third way" and asking its friends to use their diplomacy to help her country.

The Normandy Four format was established in 2014 to mediate the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The talks bring together the leaders of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine.

Russian officials responded by saying that the Normandy Format would not be fitting to as negotiation model, since the Georgian and Ukrainian conflicts are quite different. “This position seems… peculiar, because these problems concern two countries and these two countries have to solve problems by themselves. The “Normandy Format” fits the Donetsk and Lugansk Republics – as there is a special situation, first of all, hostilities are taking place, and secondly - referendums on the recognition of independence have been held in these republics, something opposed by the Ukrainian side. Russia cannot accept… methods which may involve genocide. These are two fundamentally different stories, two completely different situations, and I think that talking about the Russian-Georgian relations in the "Normandy Format", to put it mildly, is artificial,“ said the Deputy Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs of the Russian Duma Dmitry Novikov.

The spokesperson of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov shared a similar view. “The Normandy format is unique, and it was formed to resolve the conflict in southeastern Ukraine, the intra-Ukrainian conflict. Here we are talking about bilateral relations between Russia and Georgia, which currently leaves a lot to be desired. And this deterioration, as we know, was provoked by quite unfriendly policy and aggressive actions of the former Georgian leadership,” he said.

Zourabichvili also briefly spoke about the border tensions Georgia is having with Armenia and Azerbaijan. She said that for a state to be considered valid, it must have universally recognised borders, while Georgia has border problems not only in conflict zones in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but also with Armenia and Azerbaijan.

She added that despite the work of joint commissions on demarcation and delimitation, the process has stalled. “It is not clear what prevents the completion of this process, especially in light of the fact that we are dealing with friendly countries. Moreover, both presidents of [Armenia and Azerbaijan] officially stated that they consider the work of the commissions necessary,” she said.

Her statement was negatively perceived by the opposition parties in Georgia. “We are dealing with a strategic problem that threatens the country’s security – the occupation, and only a traitor to national interests can speak out in this way. It is also unacceptable to mention [the issue of the occupation] as a problem similar to that of demarcation with the border of such a friendly neighbouring country such as Azerbaijan is for Georgia,” said Tina Bokuchava, a member of the United National Movement. The representatives of European Georgia categorically demanded that the Georgian government disavow Zourabichvili’s statement.