Georgia Wants Black Sea Free From Confrontations, Seeks Equal Participation - President

Georgia wants to participate on par with its partners in matters regarding Black Sea security and wants it to be a zone free from confrontation and conflict, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said at a press conference in Warsaw on Tuesday, following talks with her Polish counterpart

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th May, 2019) Georgia wants to participate on par with its partners in matters regarding Black Sea security and wants it to be a zone free from confrontation and conflict, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said at a press conference in Warsaw on Tuesday, following talks with her Polish counterpart.

"If we're talking about boosting security, the Black Sea has become such an important issue. Georgia wants to engage in it equally with our partners, to make sure that the Black Sea remains a sea of peace and safety, and to avoid confrontations and conflicts, so that the bridge that connects Georgia and the European Union is safe," Zurabishvili said after her meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda, which is part of her two-day visit to Poland that started earlier on Tuesday.

The timing of Zurabishvili's visit coincides with a series of events initiated by Duda to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Poland's accession to the European Union, as reported by the Polish president's office. Poland has long been an adamant supporter of Georgia's long-standing aspirations to acquire NATO and EU memberships.

"Georgia is a part of Europe, Europe needs unity and needs to be a community, and therefore Georgia's EU aspirations are also obvious to us and we always support Georgia in this respect," Duda said during the press conference.

The Georgian president is also scheduled to hold meetings with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, as well as the speakers of the upper and lowers houses of parliament, Stanislaw Karczewski and Marek Kuchcinski, respectively.

Zurabishvili and Duda will also attend events dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership in Warsaw, including a conference entitled "Ten Years of Eastern Partnership, Lessons for Georgia and Poland."

The Eastern Partnership is a joint policy initiative involving the EU member states and six Eastern European Partners � Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. It was established in 2009 with the aim of strengthening political ties and economic integration among its members.