Georgian opposition: EU mediator vows to stay until agreement reached
EU mediator in the talks between the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition may stay in Tbilisi longer than scheduled. Photo: EU delegation to Georgia.
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Georgian opposition parties say that Christian Danielsson, who is the EU mediator in the talks between the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition, will stay in Tbilisi until the parties come to an agreement on the issues of repeat parliamentary elections and the release of opposition leader Nika Melia.
Danielsson, who was scheduled to have left Georgia after yesterday’s meetings, announced he would stay for ‘additional one day.’
He held a meeting with leaders of Georgian opposition parties earlier today.
Danielsson has not confirmed so far that he will stay until the completion of negotiations.
The opposition says that per the working document (which is not public) both the ruling party and the opposition will have to make concessions.
Christian Danielsson has a further follow-up meeting with representatives of opposition parties during his visit to Georgia as @eucopresident envoy to the EU mediated political dialogue. pic.twitter.com/8FF9b4he3u
— EU Delegation Georgia ???????? (@EUinGeorgia) March 15, 2021
However, they say that the ruling party does not want to do so.
Danielsson said after yesterday’s meetings with the political parties that 'we knew from the beginning that what we are doing here is difficult'. However, he said 'we have been working hard and we have seen progress'.
Summary of the third day of Christian Danielsson’s @DanielssonEU visit to Georgia as @eucopresident envoy to EU mediated political dialogue. pic.twitter.com/QubqJeGxPR
— EU Delegation Georgia ???????? (@EUinGeorgia) March 14, 2021
Although the Georgian Dream chair Irakli Kobakhidze did not speak about the meeting in detail, he said the success of the negotiations depends on the political parties and that the ruling party ‘will spare no efforts for the successful completion of the dialogue’.
We will follow the principle of justice and we will naturally sign what we consider fair”, Kobakhidze said.
He stated that the negotiations will resume after the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili returns from the EU-Georgia Association Council meeting from Brussels allegedly on March 18.
Christian Danielsson holds further follow-up meeting with representatives of Georgian Dream during his visit to Georgia as @eucopresident envoy to the EU mediated political dialogue. pic.twitter.com/JgB8HTHulO
— EU Delegation Georgia ???????? (@EUinGeorgia) March 14, 2021
Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria has stated earlier today that the parties ‘must come to an agreement’ because the country ‘will not resist so much stagnation, tension and polarisation.’
Georgia has faced political tension since 2019.
The presence of Russian MPs in the Georgian parliament in June 2019 pushed people to the street and rallies continued for several months.
After the 2020 parliamentary elections, the opposition parties which have won seats in the state legislature, have accused the ruling party of fabricating the elections and took to the street.
Foreign ambassadors have facilitated four rounds of talks between the ruling party and the opposition to help them end the tension. However, the talks ended without the result.
The arrest of the opposition leader Melia on February 23, 2021 for his refusal to pay bail further complicated the tension.
The European Council President Charles Michel who paid a visit to Georgia on March 1 facilitated a meeting between the ruling party and the opposition and following the visit sent Danielsson to Tbilisi to mediate the talks.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, along with the EU ambassador to Georgia and three ministers have left for Brussels earlier today to attend the sixth meeting of the EU-Georgia Association Council.
Christian Danielsson, who is visiting Georgia to lead the EU-backed mediation effort in Georgia, has held follow-up meetings with the ruling Georgian Dream party and opposition amid the current political tension.
The EU mediator in the talks between the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition amid the current political tension, Christian Danielsson, has stated that the parties should themselves find a solution to the situation with the help of mediation. He stated that Georgia ‘is a valuable partner’ for the EU and that the EU is concerned by the ‘current political deadlock’ in the country.
The 10th convocation of the parliament of Georgia is holding its first session today following the October 31 parliamentary elections and the second round of elections on November 21. No opposition MPs from the eight parties and election blocs that were voted into parliament are attending the session. Five of eight opposition parties and blocs have signed a memorandum earlier today in which they do not recognise the election results, and demand the conduct of repeat elections and refuse to take up their mandates.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, who met with the European Council President Charles Michel in Brussels yesterday, has told journalists that the Georgian ruling party and the opposition must come to an agreement amid the current political tension, but a solution ‘must not be found at the expense of state interests.’
EU officials and the document released after the recent, 6th EU-Georgia Association Council meeting in Brussels say that the October 31, 2020 Georgian parliamentary elections, as well as the second round of the elections in November 2020, were ‘competitive.’
The United National Movement opposition party says a banner depicting currently imprisoned leader Nika Melia was shot at.
Christian Danielsson, who is leading the EU-backed mediation effort in Georgia, has held the first joint meetings with the ruling Georgian Dream party and opposition amid the current political tension. Although the parties did not again speak about the topics of their discussion in detail, ruling party chair Irakli Kobakhidze said after meeting that ‘the process has gone in the right direction.