TBILISI. Dec 18 (Interfax) - Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset has arrived in Georgia on an official visit, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
Berset is due to meet with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili, President-elect Mikheil Kavelashvili, and Foreign Minister Maka Bochorishvili, the statement said.
The visit paid by the Council of Europe secretary general is the first visit of a European official after the Georgian parliamentary elections held in October.
Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia on October 26, and the Georgian Dream ruling party was elected victorious, which caused protests demanding that election results be cancelled.
A new outbreak of protests followed the statement made by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on November 28. He said Tbilisi would not start EU accession negotiations until 2028 and would reject any EU budget grants in that period.
Kavelashvili was elected president of Georgia on December 14. This is the first time Georgia elected its president not in a direct vote but by a 300-member electoral college. Representatives of opposition parties that consider the incumbent authorities illegitimate took no part in the elections.