On Thursday, 18 July 2013, Members of the Seimas met with Bidzina Ivanishvili, Prime Minister of Georgia, and the delegation under his leadership, and took part in an informal discussion on Domestic and Foreign Policy and A Strategy for the Future organised by the Seimas European Club. The discussion focused on the current political situation in Georgia. MPs expressed their support for Georgia’s rapprochement with Europe in hope of further steps at the Eastern Partnership Summit to be held in Vilnius in November. Petras Auštrevičius, Deputy Speaker of the Seimas, underlined that the meeting had stressed that the policy of the incumbent Georgian authorities pursued with regard to the opposition would be a decisive criterion in assessing whether Georgia complied with the principles of the rule of law and freedom of speech.

The meeting with the Georgian delegation was attended by the following Members of the Seimas: Petras Auštrevičius, Audronius Ažubalis, Vytautas Gapšys, Benediktas Juodka, Andrius Kubilius, Andrius Mazuronis, Domas Petrulis and Emanuelis Zingeris.

Justė Radzevičiūtė-Laugalienė, Public Relations Unit, tel. +370 5 239 6210, e-mail: [email protected]