The collapse of the Soviet Union was a positive development for Georgia, Poland and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the President of the European Council, said Donald Tusk on Thursday.

His remarks came during the international conference in Batumi dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership.

According to him, this year marks the 15th anniversary of the enlargement of the European Union, which brought great results.

“It is an honour for me to take part in this Conference in the beautiful city of Batumi, where we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership.

This year also marks a milestone for other key events in European history, which give our discussion a broader perspective. In 2019, we are celebrating the 15th anniversary of the enlargement that changed the course of history for countries like my own, Poland. And this year also marks the 30th anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet domination in Central and Eastern Europe that started inter alia with the demonstrations in Tbilisi in April 1989, the first partially free elections in Poland in June, and culminated with the  fall of the Berlin Wall in November.

This is where one reflection comes to mind. You remember when the Russian President said in 2005: “we should acknowledge that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.” Today in Georgia I want to say loud and clear: the collapse of the Soviet Union was a blessing to Georgians, Poles, Ukrainians as well as to the whole of Central and Eastern Europe. And I’m convinced that also to Russians,” he said.