Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has appointed Giorgi Zurabashvili, First Deputy Foreign Minister, as his special representative for relations with Russia. Kobakhidze said the position is important for advancing Georgia’s state interests, adding that the appointment is unrelated to recent Russian restrictions on imports of certain Georgian products.
Zurabashvili has served in the public sector since 1992 and pursued a diplomatic career since 2013. He was Georgia’s ambassador to Ireland from 2019 to 2024, later headed the Foreign Ministry’s Europe Department, and became First Deputy Foreign Minister on July 1, 2025. He graduated from Tbilisi State Institute of Foreign Languages in 1989, specializing in English and Spanish.
According to his latest asset declaration, covering 2025, Zurabashvili received a 187-square-metre land plot on Shalva Radiani Street in Tbilisi as a gift in 2025. He also co-owns a 9,196-square-metre plot with Mariam Zurabashvili, purchased for $35,000 in 2023, where a garage is located. The diplomat declared no other property in his or his wife Irina Bochorishvili’s name.
Zurabashvili earned GEL 114,273 in salary from the Foreign Ministry in 2025. His wife received GEL 260,000 working as a manager at Cityplex and holds 30% of Iberia Travel and 20% of Geoco International, both listed as inactive in the declaration. At the time of filing, her Bank of Georgia accounts held €10,469, $3,000 and GEL 2,000, while Zurabashvili reported GEL 4,048 and $3,552, alongside a credit account balance of GEL 7,720.
