A top-level energy summit to be held in Batumi, Georgia, on Thursday has been downgraded to an "energy conference at the highest level" after the presidents of five countries who had been expected to attend pulled out, Georgia's Foreign Ministry said.
The Foreign Ministry press service told Interfax the presidents of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania would not attend the conference, which will address energy security and the planned South Caucasus energy corridor, among other issues. The press service did not state why the presidents will no longer be attending..
The press service said the ten participant countries – Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan – would be represented by their prime ministers or other top officials.
Working groups, at meetings in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Tuesday and Wednesday, agreed memorandums to be signed by presidents at the conference but the draft documents will remain unsigned.
