Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of the Parliament in Georgia, refused to attend a meeting of a delegation of parliamentarians from the member states of European Union.
A delegation of eight EU foreign relations committee chairmen is currently in Tbilisi.
Papuashvili claims that “this group” asked for a meeting between him and the chairs of some committees in the Parliament. He refused the request and explained his reasoning in writing. Papuashvili shares the letter on Facebook.
Papuashvili cites as one of the reasons why the Georgian Dream government was refused, the critical attitude of some European politicians in the delegation, including Zygimantas Pavilionis, the chairman of Seimas of Lithuania’s Foreign Relations Committee.
Papuashvili accuses the opposition of an unfriendly attitude towards Georgian elections and interference.
“I was not shocked by the arrival in Georgia of a group of members of parliaments from several EU member states. I was surprised that some of the members of the delegation wanted to meet with the political leadership and parliamentary leadership in Georgia, despite the fact that they were not friendly towards the Georgian government or society.
“Although I am committed to the Georgian government’s commitment to promote dialogue with all relevant and concerned parties of the European Union (EU), I cannot positively respond to this intention to host meetings.
Several members of the delegaiton should not expect anything else based on the hostile attitude towards Georgia, which has been demonstrated many times. Everyone can see that the main purpose of the visit is political bias.
“During the preelection campaign, certain members of the delegation, as well as other foreign politicians, constantly and intentionally violated Georgian law by conducting a campaign against the ruling political party of Georgia, and supporting the opposition. This was done to illegally influence citizens’ will,” – Papuashvili said.
Papuashvili says that, taking all of the above into consideration, he finds it impossible to accept the delegation’s request for a conference.
“At the time, I’d like to express respect to the other members of the delega-tion and confirm my readiness to continue the dialog within the frameworks of fundamental principles and standards of parliamentary diplomacy based on equal rights and respect for sovereignty,” Papuashvili said.
Michael Roth, the chairman of Germany‘s Foreign Relations Committee of the Bundestag, was also one of the politicians in the delegation. He wrote on X, that no one, not even the government, from the ruling party had agreed to the meeting.
The chairs of the foreign relations commissions of the following nations have arrived in Georgia.
Germany,
Finland,
Sweden,
France
Lithuania,
Latvia,
Estonia,
Poland.
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