Parliament Speaker: anyone who considers themselves friend of the Georgian people must focus on “not encouraging radical agenda”

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday said anyone who considered themselves a friend of the Georgian people must focus on “not encouraging a radical agenda in the country”, in reference to a part of the domestic opposition’s stance.

In his remarks over the matter, Papuashvili noted “providing a stand to radical groups” in the opposition made “radicalism the norm”, a development he said “ultimately harms the Georgian people”.

[D]epolarisation is mainly due to the radicalisation of the opposition. Therefore, I think that everyone who considers themselves a friend of the Georgian people should focus on not encouraging a radical agenda”, the head of the legislative body said.

Papuashvili also explained the reasons behind him not attending the international conference Glory to Ukraine - hosted in Tbilisi - by saying it had involved representatives of domestic “radical political groups” that were refusing to recognise the legitimacy of the Parliament and discussed “regime change” in the country.

This is a typical radical agenda, and giving a stand to radical groups only fuels radical groups. This is the reason why I did not participate [in the conference]. My responsibility to the Georgian people as the Speaker of the Parliament is not to encourage a radical agenda”, he concluded.