NGOs, opposition criticize president for statement on possible visit of Russian delegation
The Georgian President responded to a question of a Russian CoE delegation member on the upcoming ministerial after her speech at PACE on January 29. Photo: President’s press office.
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Several Georgian NGOs and the parliamentary opposition have criticised Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili for her statement made at PACE yesterday, where she said that Georgia is likely to allow a Russian delegation, including Russian FM Sergey Lavrov, into Georgia during the CoE ministerial in Tbilisi in May 2020.
Zurabishvili said that “making the decision [when Lavrov for instance violated the Georgian Law on the Occupied Territories] is not easy. However, we chair the CoE Committee of Ministers and we respect all our international obligations.”
The opposition has called the statement “alarming and shameful,” while the NGO stated that the statement “undermined the rule of law and fundamental principles of democracy.”
Former president of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili has stated that though preventing the Russian delegation entering Georgia ‘will make us feel proud [...] the step may damage our international image.”
Margvelashvili said that Georgia hosts the event as a CoE chair country and not as an individual state.
Vice Parliament Speaker from the ruling Georgian Dream party Giorgi Volski says that the “issue will be discussed with our international partners, as it on the one hand concerns the Georgian law and on the other hand our international obligation [as a CoE chair country].”
Georgian opposition says that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the Russian delegation must not be allowed into Georgia during the Council of Europe (CoE) ministerial in Tbilisi in May 2020, which Georgia will host as the CoE chair country.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says that the June 2019 ‘provocations’ [referring to protests in Tbilisi] have negatively influenced the process of normalising relations between the two countries which was launched in 2012 under the Georgian Dream leadership.
Georgia has made a voluntary contribution of €500,000 towards Council of Europe (CoE) projects as the new char of the organisation, the Council of Europe reports.CoE says the funds will support the priorities of the Georgian chairmanship: human rights and environmental protection; citizen participation in decision-making; child-friendly justice - converging experience on restorative justice in Europe, strengthening democracy through education, culture and youth engagement.
Starting today until May 15, 2020 Georgia will chair the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE), a decision making body composed of the ministers of foreign affairs of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe or their permanent representatives in Strasbourg.Georgia has taken over the chairmanship from France.
Russian MP Sergey Gavrilov, whose taking the seat of the Georgian parliamentary speaker in June 2019 sparked large protests in the Georgian capital, has called Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili’s recent statement ‘a serious signal’ for improvements in Russia-Georgia relations.
Former Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Gregori Karasin says that a Russian delegation will attend the CoE ministerial in Tbilisi in May 2020, which Georgia will be hosting as the Council of Europe chair.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova says that the visits of foreign officials must not be a problem for any sovereign state, responding to the recent turmoil over the CoE ministerial scheduled in Tbilisi for May.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called Georgian journalists in Geneva ‘sick’ who were trying to receive an answer from Lavrov as to whether he will come to the CoE ministerial in Tbilisi in May later this year.
Well-known Russian Journalist Vladimir Pozner, who had stated that Abkhazia (Georgia’s Russian-occupied region) will never be Georgia’, has left Tbilisi with his guests earlier today due to protests. Pozner, who arrived in Tbilisi late yesterday with 40 other individuals to celebrate his 87th birthday, was also fined for violation of isolation and quarantine rules. 31 of 40 of his guests also faced the same fine.