Georgian Dream Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili met with her Belarusian counterpart, Maxim Ryzhenkov, in New York, where she is attending the UN General Assembly, “to discuss ways to further step up cooperation between the two countries,” Belarus’ Belta agency reported on September 25, citing the Belarusian Foreign Ministry. The Georgian Foreign Ministry has not reported the meeting.
“The parties discussed interaction in trade, economy, humanitarian affairs, culture, and other areas,” the news agency wrote.
“The parties stressed their interest in an equal, respectful, and mutually beneficial partnership for the benefit of the two countries. They discussed a number of issues on the international agenda and focused on countering modern challenges and threats,” the agency added, citing the Belarusian Foreign Ministry.
The report also says that Ryzhenkov “wished the Georgian side success in the upcoming Georgian local elections.”
Botchorishvili is attending the 80th session of the UNGA alongside Georgian Dream-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili and Health Minister Mikheil Sarjveladze. The Georgian Foreign Ministry has issued press releases on her meetings with counterparts from Slovakia, Vietnam, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Croatia, France, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Hungary, many of which she also shared on her X account. However, her meeting with the Belarusian minister was reported neither by the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor by Botchorishvili herself.
Civil.ge has reached out to the Georgian Foreign Ministry for comment about Botchorishvili’s meeting with the Belarusian official.
Botchorishvili’s meeting with Ryzhenkov follows another recent encounter between Georgian Dream and Belarusian officials, when GD Interior Minister Geka Geladze met in China with Dmitry Gora, the Western-sanctioned head of Belarus’ Investigative Committee. Georgian officials likewise remained silent about that meeting, which was reported only by Belarusian authorities.
The meeting follows longstanding concerns about security cooperation between Georgian and Belarusian officials. In 2016, Tbilisi and Minsk signed a controversial agreement providing for the exchange of state security information and cooperation on issues such as crimes against the constitutional order, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, as well as transnational organized crime, terrorism, and the illicit circulation of weapons. The agreement entered into force in 2021.
In 2022, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko visited the resort town of Bichvinta in occupied Abkhazia, sparking widespread outrage and condemnation from the Georgian public, political leaders, opposition parties, Belarusian opposition figures, and the international community.
In December 2024, the violent suppression of pro-EU protests by Georgian authorities sparked speculation that they may have sought guidance on crackdown tactics from their Belarusian counterparts.
