US Department of State 'disappointed’ by disagreement between Georgian political parties
The US Department of State says that politicians should put the country’s interests over their political interests. Photo: Getty Images.
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The US Department of State is ‘disappointed’ that the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition have not yet come to an agreement to ease the current political tension in Georgia, Voice of America (VoA) cites the US Department of State as saying.
VoA reports that the US Department of State is ‘disappointed’ because neither the ruling Georgian Dream party nor the opposition were able to put the state interests above their political interests and make an agreement on the issues of repeat parliamentary elections and the release of opposition figures.
The US Department of State says that responsibility particularly lies with the ruling party to come to an agreement.
The head of the ruling Georgian Dream party Irakli Kobakhidze, who is now holding meetings in the US, has stated that the party is ready to take ‘concrete steps to make an agreement’ with opposition parties which have been demanding repeat elections since November 2020.
Kobakhidze stated earlier that the opposition's demands contradicted the law and were groundless. Photo: Irakli Kobakhidze's Facebook page.
We have confirmed several times and, of course, we remain ready for a constructive dialogue,” Kobakhidze said.
He stated that the Georgian delegation has briefed politicians in the US regarding election issues and the cases involving opposition figures.
The US and Georgia are key strategic partners and the views of American politicians are important to us,” Kobakhidze said.
Georgian opposition parties which won seats in the 10th convocation of the Georgian parliament say that last year’s parliamentary elections were fabricated and have been demanding repeat elections since November 2020.
The arrest of the head of the United National Movement opposition party Nika Melia for his refusal to pay bail on February 23, 2021(in the case of June 2019 protests) further complicated the political tension.
The ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition have failed to come to an agreement in EU-mediated talks for the second time in March 2021.
In an open letter to the US senators, Georgian non-governmental organisations are calling for the United States for greater involvement in resolution of the political crisis in Georgia.
Member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs Michael Gahler says the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition United National Movement (UNM) should reach an agreement on the release of UNM leader Nika Melia from the detention facility if he will wear a monitoring bracelet again.
The ruling Georgian Dream party says that they were ready to sign an agreement offered by the EU mediator in the talks with the opposition if several changes were introduced in it.
The ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition have failed to come to an agreement in EU-mediated talks for the second time. The document offered by EU mediator Christian Danielsson yesterday which concerned ‘ambitious electoral and judicial reform’ and offered amnesty for suspects and convicts of the June 2019 protests in Tbilisi was not signed by any of the parties.
The ruling Georgian Dream party has signed a EU-proposed agreement by mediator Christian Danielsson earlier today which concerns ‘ambitious electoral and judicial reform’ and offers amnesty for suspects and convicts of the June 19 protests in Tbilisi, including the currently imprisoned head of the United National Movement opposition party Nika Melia. The Georgian Dream party and the opposition failed to sign the same agreement at the end of March 2021, following the second arrival of Danielsson to help the parties come to an agreement.
Opposition United National Movement members refuse to sign any agreement with the ruling Georgian Dream party until their leader Nika Melia is released from prison. UNM member Koba Nakopia said until ‘the chair of the main opposition party is detained’ the agreement with the Georgian Dream is ‘impossible’.
The United States Embassy to Georgia and the European Union Delegation welcome the resumption of contacts between the ruling party and opposition ‘as a sign of willingness to continue consultations to reach a broad-based agreement’ to end the current political crisis.
Three MPs of the Girchi party have signed, while Lelo has stated they will also sign the new proposal by the EU to solve the political tension in Georgia which began after the 2020 parliamentary elections.
The agreement released by the European Council President Charles Michel on the weekend offers a pardon for all violations and convictions stemming from the 19-21 June 2019 protests in Tbilisi and says that if the ruling party fails to receive at least 43 per cent of votes in this year’s municipal elections, they should accept the conduct of repeat parliamentary elections.