Kavelashvili: Ample possibilities for advancement of Serbia-Georgia cooperation

BELGRADE - Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili said on Thursday in Belgrade there were ample possibilities for advancement of cooperation between Serbia and Georgia.

At a press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Kavelashvili said values, faith and beliefs were of great importance to both Georgians and the Serbs and that the two peoples had much in common.

He said people who were in power in both Serbia and Georgia must make significant efforts to establish good bilateral relations and closer ties between business communities.

Kavelashvili said Serbia and Georgia needed to build ties that would enable them to have more to cooperate on.

He noted that Georgia respected the territorial integrity of Serbia, and thanked Serbia for respecting the territorial integrity of Georgia.

Kavelashvili also said the Serbs were very popular in Georgia and invited Vucic to visit the country next year.

He said Georgia was an important agricultural country and had everything it needed to produce healthy agricultural products, and added that he was certain there would be opportunities to boost cooperation with Serbia in that area, too.

"Since the outbreak of the Ukraine-Russia war, we have been resisting major pressure and protecting our national interests and our principles," Kavelashvili also said.

He noted that his country was advocating world peace and that the situation in his region had also been tense due to the Azerbaijan-Armenia war.

"We discussed relations in education and youth cooperation," Kavelashvili said about a meeting with Vucic prior to the press conference, highlighting Serbia's experiences in the relations with the EU and within the international community.

He said everyone knew that EU-Georgia relations were "not on a very high level" and that European diplomats often had double standards for Georgia and Serbia, and noted that both countries were a part of the European heritage.