In conversation with Salomé Zourabichvili, fifth President of Georgia

The Brussels Institute for Geopolitics (BIG) is proud to invite you to a special conversation with the fifth President of Georgia, Salomé Zourabichvili – a unique opportunity to hear from a leader on the front line of EU-Russia tensions. 

Before Donbas, before Crimea, there was Georgia – a country riven by Russian interference, European ambitions and the tension between the two for nearly twenty years. From Moscow’s incursion into South Ossetia and Abkhazia in 2008, to mass protests against so-called ‘foreign agent’ legislation, and culminating in contested elections last year, Georgia’s path towards European integration continues to be arduous and uncertain, with EU accession talks now frozen. 

At the heart of the battle for the country’s soul is Salomé Zourabichvili, Georgia's most recent publicly-elected President. Following parliamentary elections in 2024 which the EU did not consider as free and fair, Madam Zourabichvili announced she would recognize neither the new Parliament nor her successor whom it nominated. She remains a high-profile defender of Georgia’s European aspirations and a strident critic of her country’s tilt towards Russia. 

In this exclusive engagement in Brussels, BIG welcomes Salomé Zourabichvili to discuss Georgia's pivotal place in Europe’s geopolitical landscape, its prospects of EU accession, as well as Tbilisi’s hard-learned lessons for Kyiv, Chisinau, Budapest and beyond. A vital conversation – and you’re invited to join us. 

Madam Zourabichvili will be in conversation with BIG’s founding director, Luuk van Middelaar, followed by a Q&A and a small reception.