Georgian Parliament Speaker: Ukraine, not EU member states, has earned right to discuss Europe’s security through its sacrifices

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said on Friday that Ukraine, having paid for its role in defending Europe with blood, was the only country with an unquestionable right to discuss European security at the negotiating table.

In his remarks, Papuashvili said the European Union’s absence from the negotiating table so far was entirely due to the immaturity of its foreign policy, to which EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had made a significant contribution.

He emphasised that even the US Secretary of State under the new US administration had not held a bilateral meeting with the EU’s foreign policy chief.

“This reflects the immaturity of the European Union’s foreign policy. The challenge, however, is not merely that Russia might be unwilling to sit at the negotiating table with certain representatives. We also see that the new US administration continues to avoid direct meetings. Two years have already passed since the new administration took office, yet there has still been no bilateral meeting between the US Secretary of State and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs”, the Speaker said.

“There is a lack of confidence in the EU’s foreign policy representatives even within the Union itself. We saw this following the rounds of negotiations in Abu Dhabi, when American negotiators visited Moscow and subsequently travelled to Dublin, where they announced that EU representatives would likely participate in the next round of talks. However, it remains unclear who exactly that representative will be. Ms Kallas insists that she should represent the EU, but we know there is no internal consensus on this matter. EU member states do not want Ms Kallas to represent the Union in such significant negotiations. At times, we see the President of Finland becoming involved, and at other times, the President of Norway. They then exchange reproaches, and so on. All in all, what we are witnessing is a picture of an immature foreign policy”, he continued.

Papuashvili argued that EU member states had not shed a single drop of blood to earn the right to participate in shaping Europe's future security architecture.

“Regarding Ms Kallas’s specific argument that issues of European security are being decided and that the EU should therefore be present at the negotiating table, let us consider the situation: Ukraine is already at the table. What does this imply? That Ukraine is trusted to defend European territory with its blood, yet is not trusted to defend European interests with its words? If anyone has the right to discuss European security at that table, it is Ukraine. It has earned that right through its bloodshed and therefore has the right to speak about European security, potential solutions and the future security architecture”, he added.

“EU member states have not shed a single drop of blood to earn a place in shaping Europe's future security architecture. Not an Estonian, not a French person, not a German, none of them have shed a single drop of blood. It is Ukraine that has shed its blood, precisely so that it can have a decisive say in shaping Europe's future security system, and so that its position and conditions can determine the outcome”, he noted.

Papuashvili also addressed the European Union’s position on sanctions.

“Ms Kallas stated emphatically that sanctions are for the EU to decide and that the question of easing or lifting them cannot be resolved without the Union's involvement. So, what does this mean? If, during the negotiations, terms acceptable to Ukraine were reached, including various adjustments to sanctions, would the European Union, simply because it was not part of the process, block such an agreement and deny Ukraine the opportunity to achieve peace merely because the EU itself had not been involved?” the Speaker said.

“What we have heard over the past few days is the language of blatant blackmail, something Brussels has become accustomed to using lately. This, in fact, reflects a Soviet mentality in Brussels: if we are not included, we will overturn the table. And who is Ukraine to speak about European security anyway? They entrust Ukraine with shedding its blood to defend European territory, yet do not trust it to have a voice in discussions about European security”, he concluded.