A telephone conversation took place between the fifth President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, and the President of the European Council, António Costa.

As Salome Zurabishvili wrote on her X (formerly Twitter) account following the conversation, she discussed the catastrophic democratic backsliding in Georgia and Russia’s hybrid strategy “implemented through the puppet regime of Georgian Dream.”

“A significant conversation with the President of the European Council, António Costa, about the catastrophic democratic backsliding in Georgia and Russia’s hybrid strategy, which aims to gain control through the puppet regime of Georgian Dream, as well as the importance of the Black Sea and the Caucasus in the EU’s strategy,” wrote Zurabishvili.

According to President Zurabishvili’s press office, the call was initiated by António Costa. During the conversation, he asked Salome Zurabishvili to provide detailed information about the current situation in Georgia, including “democratic violations and repressive developments.”

“The President highlighted the post-election situation in the country, the catastrophic democratic decline, human rights violations, the critical state of the media, and Russia’s growing influence. President Costa was also interested in what expectations the public and political spectrum in Georgia have toward the European Union,” the press release stated.