Opposition party Lelo holds meetings in Brussels
Members of Lelo discussed the current political situation in Georgia as well as its EU aspirations with MEPs. Photo: Sven Mikser/Twitter
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Members of opposition party Lelo - Mamuka Khazaradze, Badri Japaridze and Grigol Gogelia - are holding meetings with European Parliament members in Brussels.
We met MEP Sven Mikser, who is the key rapporteur on Georgia, is preparing Georgia reports monthly. [Therefore], he is aware of all the developments in the country”, Badri Japaridze said.
Noting that Mikser supports the EU-mediated political agreement in Georgia, Japaridze said MEPs should be involved in the implementation of the document.
MEP Mikser, who also met the ruling party members, has tweeted earlier today:
Good meetings with representatives of the Georgian governing party and opposition. EU-mediated agreement is a big step in the right direction, now all players need to focus on swift implementation pic.twitter.com/mo7yuxeB6A
— Sven Mikser (@svenmikser) April 21, 2021
Svan Mikser, who like other MEPs has welcomed the recent political agreement in Georgia, calls on all parties to sign the document.
We call all MPs and political parties who have not yet signed the agreement to do it. This is an important step for the democratic development of #Georgia and its Euro-Atlantic future https://t.co/YFYHejcjqU
— Sven Mikser (@svenmikser) April 20, 2021
Today the Georgian opposition politicians have met with MEP Andrius Kubilius as well.
Mamuka Khazaradze said that during their meetings with MEPs they discussed Georgia’s EU aspirations as well as the country intends to apply for membership in 2024.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has announced today that she will pardon opposition-minded Mtavari Arkhi TV co-founder Giorgi Rurua on April 27. Zurabishvili had stated earlier on April 19 that she would pardon Rurua if Georgian political parties signed the renewed EU-proposed agreement and if opposition MPs entered parliament.
The US Department of State has urged the remaining opposition parties and individual MPs to sign the EU-mediated agreement to resolve the political tension in Georgia which began after the October 2020 parliamentary elections.
European Council President Charles Michel has come to Tbilisi earlier today, shortly after the majority of Georgian political parties signed his proposal to solve the political tension in Georgia which began following the 2020 parliamentary elections. After a meeting with Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, Michel said that he is happy Georgian political parties have come to an agreement and stated that ‘today marks the start of hard work that will take Georgia forward along its Euro-Atlantic path.’
The United States welcomes the agreement reached by the government of Georgia and several opposition parties on April 19, under the mediation of European Union President Charles Michel, to bring an end to Georgia’s political crisis, announces the US Embassy to Georgia.
The Venice Commission and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (ODIHR) advise "more holistic approach" and less frequent changes to Georgian election code in their urgent opinion document released on Friday.