Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has accused what he called “local agents and their foreign patrons” of attempting to sow discord between Tbilisi and Yerevan amid growing European Union engagement with Armenia.

In an interview with the Imedi television channel, Kobakhidze said comparisons between Georgia and Armenia were an “uncomfortable topic”, stressing that the two countries are linked by “very friendly relations” and a strategic partnership, News.Az reports, citing News Georgia.

“There is an attempt by local agents and their foreign patrons to somehow pit us against Armenia, including through comparisons. This will not be successful,” the prime minister said.

Kobakhidze also thanked his Armenian counterpart Nikol Pashinyan for what he described as his “special attitude towards Georgia”, recalling that Pashinyan had previously said Armenia’s EU integration could not be discussed without Georgia.

He then turned to criticism of European officials, mocking what he described as their “knowledge of geography”.

“It appears that, in addition to economic stagnation and other delights, European bureaucrats are not particularly strong in geography either,” Kobakhidze said.

He was likely referring to comments made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 4 May at the EU–Armenia summit in Yerevan, where she described Armenia as “the shortest route connecting Europe with Central Asia and the Caspian Sea”.

The statement was sensitive for Tbilisi, as Georgian authorities have long positioned the country as a key transit corridor between Europe and Asia, particularly for energy and transport routes bypassing Russia.

News.Az