19.06.2026, Tbilisi.
Nikoloz Samkharadze, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Georgian Parliament, recently stated that Georgia is ready to discuss “critical issues” to resume dialogue with the European Union. This raises concerns that the country may start discussing the opening a “second front” against Russia, according to Rossa Primavera News Agency‘s Transcaucasia Desk.
On June 16, Samkharadze stated that Georgian delegates had met with members of the Belgian Parliament and asked for their assistance in restoring contacts with the EU.
“We are ready to resume dialogue in any format. We are also prepared to discuss critical issues, including the law that became the formal reason for the suspension of dialogue between the European Union and Georgia. I mean the transparency law,” he said.
In his remarks, Samkharadze highlighted the law on the transparency of foreign-agent funding, adopted in Georgia in May 2024. The EU strongly opposed the measure and subsequently began scaling back relations, reducing them to the lowest level possible while maintaining Georgia’s status as a candidate for EU membership.
This raises suspicions as to whether Tbilisi is cautiously revising its earlier categorical refusal to participate in the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Samkharadze himself acknowledged that the foreign-agent law was merely a formal pretext. The real cause of the rift, according to Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, emerged after the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, when Georgia refused to open a “second front” against Russia.
Kobakhidze has repeatedly pledged that the ruling party, Georgian Dream, will not allow a war with Russia. He has argued that such a conflict would devastate Georgia.
What, then, do Samkharadze’s remarks signify: lingering aspirations for European integration, an independent political maneuver, or a signal that Tbilisi may be willing to change course in exchange for Brussels’ approval?
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
