Hungarian FM pledges strategic partnership with Georgia following elections

The Hungarian government is focused on establishing strategic cooperation with Georgia, particularly in the economic sector.

This announcement was made by Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations, Peter Szijjarto, as he commented on the start of the delegation's visit to Tbilisi, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

Szijjarto stated, “The government will continue to work on further building strategic cooperation between Georgia and Hungary based on mutual respect and mutual benefit. Our investment protection agreement, which we have just signed, is gradually coming into force and this opens up opportunities for establishing mutually beneficial cooperation in new sectors of the economy.” He shared this message in a video from Tbilisi posted on Facebook.

The minister also congratulated the ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party on its victory in the parliamentary elections held on October 26, emphasizing that the outcome defied expectations from Brussels, which had anticipated a different result and had favoured other parties.

He pointed out that the Georgian opposition is currently refusing to acknowledge the election results, stating, “We know from our own experience that if liberal parties do not win elections in any country, democracy is supposedly immediately jeopardized; it does not work. According to the liberal mainstream and Brussels, democracy exists only in those countries where liberals win.”

Szijjarto highlighted that, unlike the opposition, Georgia's ruling party “bases its policy on the protection of sovereignty and families, seeks to ensure respect for national interests through its policies, and clearly advocates peace and peaceful resolution of conflicts.”

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, also on an official visit to Tbilisi, asserted that “No one should say that the elections in Georgia were undemocratic,” following discussions with his Georgian counterpart, Irakli Kobakhidze.

Additionally, Polish President Andrzej Duda mentioned that he had no evidence of Russian interference in Georgia's parliamentary elections. “This was not said directly during a telephone conversation with Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, because there is not a single indisputable evidence for it,” he remarked when asked about the issue. Duda also noted that he would consider travelling to Tbilisi if the situation warranted it.

In light of the ongoing political climate, the Central Election Commission of Georgia has decided to conduct an additional review of the election results, which will involve recounting ballots at five polling stations in each constituency.

According to the CEC's press service, district commissions have already selected the polling stations for the recount through a lottery process. Recounting began at 12:00 in the regions and is set to kick off at 17:00 in Tbilisi.

By Tamilla Hasanova