Strasbourg will host the Council of Europe ministerial in May this year instead of Tbilisi, which Georgia was meant to have hosted as the CoE chair country, Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani confirmed earlier today.
The location was changed due to the possible visit of Russian delegates to Tbilisi for the ministerial who have violated the Georgian law on the occupied territories, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The opposition warned that the arrival of the Russian delegation would spark rallies in Tbilisi, similar to those in the summer of 2019.
Georgian officials responded that the country would make a decision regarding the ministerial ‘in the full line with its international obligations’ as the CoE chair country and through consultations with foreign allies.