Georgian and Ukrainian foreign ministers hold phone call amid signs of of thaw
Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili held a phone conversation on Wednesday with her Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha, marking the latest publicly known direct communication between Tbilisi and Kyiv and yet another sign bilateral relations may be on the mend after years of tension.
In a brief note released on Wednesday evening, the Georgian Foreign Ministry stated that a conversation took place ‘at the initiative of the Ukrainian side’, and the discussion focused on ‘bilateral relations, with emphasis placed on the importance of a dialogue and on further steps in this regard’.
Sybiha also commented on the conversation on social media, saying he was glad to continue the dialogue with his counterpart following their ‘recent contacts in Yerevan’.
‘We noted the constructive dialogue between our countries and agreed on the mutual interest in normalising the Ukraine–Georgia relations’, he said, adding that ‘bilateral relations and interaction within international organisations’ was discussed.
‘We also confirmed our openness to move forward in bilateral cooperation and maintain active contacts’, Sybiha concluded.
On the same day, Botchorishvili spoke about the issue on the pro-government broadcaster Imedi TV, claiming that until now, Georgia had remained in a state of ‘one-sided friendship’ and ‘one-sided support’ toward Ukraine.
According to her, during the conversation, an agreement was reached with Sybiha to hold a meeting in the near future, where the ministers would be able to ‘discuss everything and what can be done to bring relations between the two countries back within a normal framework’.
In Botchorishvili’s words, for a long time, the Ukrainian side had been ‘communicating with Georgia through social media, and we were hearing rather unpleasant messages, which is impossible to overlook’.
She again stressed that the initiative was now ‘coming from the Ukrainian side’.
‘This can be viewed as a positive step. Secondly, it is also important for us that certain issues which have accumulated in relations over these years are properly understood by the Ukrainian side, in the way they were understood by us, by Georgian society, and by the Georgian authorities, so that we can continue the relationship’, she added.
The phone conversation was preceded by a meeting between Botchorishvili and Sybiha in Yerevan on Monday, during the 8th summit of the European Political Community Summit. On the sidelines of the same event, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi also talked to each other.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
Later, Kobakhidze described the exchange as ‘an interesting and very friendly conversation’, while Zelenskyi noted that ‘there are indeed unresolved issues between our states’ and ‘it is important to have dialogue at all levels’.
As in the most recent phone call, the Georgian side also emphasised at the time that the initiative for the meeting with Kobakhidze had come from the other side.
Once close allies, Georgia’s relations with Ukraine have soured in recent years, especially since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022, with Georgian Dream leaders, including Kobakhidze, routinely castigating the country and its officials.
In the context of war, the ruling party often refers to the ‘deep state’ and ‘global war party’ — two nebulous terms that regularly feature in Georgian Dream’s conspiracy theory-tinged rhetoric. According to the party, these shadowy forces have infiltrated political circles in the West, dragged Ukraine into war with Russia, and are trying to do the same in Georgia.
One point of tension is Zelenskyi’s relationship with Georgia’s former president, Mikheil Saakashvili, who is currently imprisoned, and his United National Movement (UNM) party.
Saakashvili holds Ukrainian citizenship, which he obtained after 2013, following the end of his presidential term in Georgia. He then moved to Ukraine, where he held several state positions. Before he left Ukraine in 2021 for Georgia, where he currently remains in prison, he served as Chair of the Executive Reforms Committee, appointed by Zelenskyi.
Furthermore, Georgian security services have accused Georgian volunteer fighters in Ukraine of trying to orchestrate a coup back in Georgia along with the support of Ukrainian officials.
In September 2025, during the UN General Assembly, Zelenskyi said Russian influence had become increasingly strong in Georgia, noting that Europe ‘lost’ the country. Georgian Dream officials heavily criticised him in response, with the ruling party MP Irakli Kirtskhalia calling him a ‘puppet’ and saying he should ‘clean out his mouth’.
In December 2024, amid democratic backsliding in Georgia, Kyiv imposed sanctions on the founder of Georgian Dream, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, and 18 other individuals, stating that they were ‘selling out’ the interests of Georgia and its population.
