Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Georgia on a working visit, accompanied by a delegation. He began official meetings on Wednesday, preceded by an informal segment, including Pashinyan playing the drums during a dinner in Kakheti.
After arriving in Tbilisi, Pashinyan made his first official remarks on Wednesday at a joint briefing with Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze. This was preceded by a bilateral meeting between the two, as well as the 15th session of the Georgia–Armenia Intergovernmental Economic Cooperation Commission with the participation of both prime ministers and government representatives.
‘We discussed the bilateral economic, regional, and international agenda. We talked about where we have the greatest potential to develop cooperation’, Pashinyan said, before thanking Kobakhidze for ‘personally supporting’ the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
‘Today, Armenia and Azerbaijan are establishing economic relations and connections with Georgia’s assistance and facilitation. This is truly commendable, and I sincerely thank you for this valuable contribution’, he added, according to the simultaneous interpretation.
Pashinyan further emphasised that Armenia supports Georgia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and ‘political independence’, so that ‘lasting peace can prevail in the region’.
‘This is precisely the foundation on which Armenia and Azerbaijan have built peace’, he noted, expressing the hope that ‘Georgia too will enjoy lasting peace and resolve the issues that are important to it, including those concerning territorial integrity’.
Further recounting his conversation with Kobakhidze, Pashinyan said he briefed his counterpart on the Trump Route project, the peace process with Azerbaijan, and Armenia’s relations with Turkey and Russia. He added that Georgia and Armenia share a common interest in the issues concerning ‘our region and the EU’.
‘In the context of Armenia–European Union relations, Georgia is a very important partner for us. We discussed this issue and hope that we will continue to cooperate in the future and achieve tangible results’, he noted.
For his part, Kobakhidze highlighted the strategic partnership between the two countries, adding that the cooperation is based on ‘mutual respect and shared interests’. He thanked Armenia for supporting ‘Georgia’s national interests’, as well as for backing its territorial integrity.
‘We see that a rather complex situation has developed around us, and against this backdrop, it is especially important to further deepen cooperation between our countries’, he added.
The day prior, on Tuesday, Pashinyan had an informal dinner in the eastern Georgian region of Kakheti, together with Kobakhidze and other representatives of the Georgian government.
Later, he posted a video on social media showing him playing the drums to a half-hearted rendition of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean at the restaurant where the dinner was held. Pashinyan was accompanied by Mariam Shengelia — Georgia’s representative in the 2025 Eurovision contest, who came in 33rd place out of 37 countries participating.
‘It was an honour to play with Georgian friends, for Georgian friends’, he wrote in the description.
The Armenian government delegation accompanying Pashinyan included his chief of staff, as well as the Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili and her deputy, along with the ministers of education, infrastructure, and economy.
Nate Ostiller
