Spain Not to Give Political Asylum to Georgians
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, January 31
There are no political problems in Georgia and Spain will not give asylum to Georgian citizens with that motive, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation Josep Borrell said during his meeting with Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani in Madrid on Tuesday.
Borrell said that the number of asylum seekers had to be decreased and people should not have to waste money and time on goals which would not be reached.
Speaking about EU-Georgia visa-free agreement and its consequences in terms of illegal migration from Georgia Borrell stated that “there are no significant problems and Georgia is cooperating with Spain to settle the problem.”
Zalkaliani repeated that the Georgia-EU visa-free deal is not at any risk due to the illegal migration of Georgians to the EU member states.
He said that Spain strongly supports Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, while Georgia, on its part, reconfirms its firm position regarding Spain’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.
Zalkaliani provided his counterpart with detailed information on the situation in Georgia’s occupied territories and underlined the necessity of peaceful resolution of the conflict.
“The Ministers positively appraised an increasing level of business and economic contacts between the two countries, as well as the successful operation of Spanish companies in Georgia. In this context, the two ministers highlighted Georgia’s transit opportunities and favourable investment and business climate, which, along with Georgia’s good international ratings, provide ample grounds for the European companies to get interested in Georgia as a bridge between Asia and the Far East,” Georgian Foreign Ministry reported.
Zalkaliani reiterated that Georgia’s choice is Europe.
