site.btaUPDATED Parliament Chair Zhelyazkov Says Relations with Georgia Excellent, Assures Counterpart Papuashvili of Support for EU Aspirations

A Bulgarian parliamentary delegation led by National Assembly Chairman Rosen Zhelyazkov met with Georgian Parliament Chairman Shalva Papuashvili on Friday. The delegation arrived on an official visit to Tbilisi on Thursday at the invitation of Papuashvili.

Talking at a joint briefing after the meeting, Zhelyazkov said: "We outlined the parliamentary dimensions of our cooperation and noted with satisfaction that we have excellent bilateral relations."

"We have no outstanding issues," he also said.

Zhelyazkov said: "All that remains is to deepen economic cooperation, to step up trade and improve connectivity, and to achieve greater integration in the processes that lie ahead for Georgian society. We stated our support for Georgia's full EU membership and we are confident that the path followed by Georgian society will lead during the monitoring process as early as this year to a [positive] assessment of the progress made on the recommendations and Georgia will receive the deserved status of a candidate country."

Zhelyazkov said Bulgaria firmly supports Georgia's territorial integrity.

Regarding the country's desire to join NATO, he said Bulgaria has demonstrated its strong support very clearly. It is not a coincidence that the Bulgarian Embassy has been a NATO Contact Point Embassy in Georgia three times.

Zhelyazkov extended an invitation to Papuashvili to visit Bulgaria for a possible discussion of Georgia's next steps as a candidate country.

For his part, Papuashvili said the sides took the next step towards deepening their friendly relations. He noted that the contacts between Georgia and Bulgaria go back centuries.

Papuashvili said Georgia strongly appreciates Bulgaria's support for its progress towards EU membership. He stressed that dialogue at parliamentary level was deepening and the two chairmen had shared their experience.

Papuashvili also thanked the delegation for Bulgaria's firm support for Georgia's territorial integrity and for its EU aspirations.

He mentioned the Bulgarian Parliament's intention to adopt a resolution on Georgia's territorial integrity and was assured that Bulgaria will continue to support Georgia on its path towards EU accession so that the two countries can walk together on the same path.

Earlier on Friday, Zhelyazkov laid a wreath at the memorial of the heroes who died for the territorial integrity of Georgia.

The MPs on the delegation are Alexander Ivanov (GERB-UDF), Daniel Lorer (Continue the Change), Yordan Todorov (Vazrazhdane), Bayram Bayram (Movement for Rights and Freedoms), Petar Kanev (BSP for Bulgaria) and Toshko Yordanov (Floor Leader of There Is Such a People).