EU Ambassador: 'all sides need to demonstrate responsibility'
Hartzel said that the logic of escalation is getting the upper hand and the political crisis is deepening. Photo: EU Delegation to Georgia/Twitter.
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EU Ambassador Carl Hartzell has responded to a special forces storm of the United National Movement office this morning to arrest its chair Nika Melia and said that 'all sides need to demonstrate responsibility and have the best interest of the country and the Georgian people at heart' in his post on Twitter.
The logic of escalation is getting the upper hand. The political crisis is deepening. All sides need to demonstrate responsibility and have the best interest of the country and the Georgian people at heart. Efforts to find common ground must not be abandoned.
— Carl Hartzell (@CarlHartzellEU) February 23, 2021
Police used tear gas in the room where Melia was gathered with his supporters, however before starting the special operation they evacuated the UNM office, where party leaders and opposition parties' representatives had been protecting Melia for several days.
Twenty-one people were detained, including one of the leaders of the UNM Giorgi Baramidze.
In addition 17 citizens were given first aid and two of them were taken to a clinic.
Other foreign diplomats and politicians have also expressed concern over the events and called on the government as well as opposition to start negotiations.