Georgia refuses negotiations on joining the EU until 2028, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said, Ekho Kavkaza reports.

“We have decided not to put on the agenda the issue of opening negotiations with the European Union until the end of 2028. Also, until the end of 2028, we refuse any budget grants from the European Union,” Kobakhidze said at a briefing.

According to him, it is “absolutely unacceptable for Georgia to consider integration into the European Union as charity that the European Union should give us.”

“We see that European politicians and bureaucrats are using the allocated grants and loans as blackmail against Georgia,” he added.

According to Kobakhidze, the end of 2028 is when Georgia will be ready, first of all economically, to start negotiations on joining the European Union by 2030.