Ruling party head: US Ambassador’s statement on ex-Pres. Saakashvili’s clandestine return to Georgia - “unfortunate”
The ruling party Head said it would be “difficult” to evaluate why Degnan refrained from answering the question and stressed neglecting the rule of law principle was a “serious problem”. Photo via Georgian Dream press office
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Irakli Kobakhidze, the Head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday called the United States Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan’s statement on former President Mikheil Saakashvili’s clandestine return to Georgia - “unfortunate”. The rule of law is a “supreme principle” and it should be effective in the USA as well as in Georgia, he said.
Kobakhidze responded to Degnan’s recent interview with the local media Adjara TV, where she had been asked by the journalist that she “represented the country with the highest rule of law and democracy” and if any former president had illegally crossed the US state border [like Saakashvili’s arrival in Georgia], would not it have been an “insult” to the country. The Ambassador said it was a “hypothetical question” and she could not and would not answer it.
The ruling party Head said it would be “difficult” to evaluate why Degnan refrained from answering the question and stressed neglecting the rule of law principle was a “serious problem”.
Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Committee on Human Rights, on Saturday said a resolution adopted by the Polish Sejm on Georgia’s imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili was an attempt to “force an open door”.
Georgia’s Vice Prime Minister Thea Tsulukiani on Tuesday said concerns voiced by Pawel Herczynski, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, over the allegedly deteriorated health of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili were “surprising and groundless”.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said President Salome Zourabichvili would need to consider her voters’ 2018 rejection of the opposition United National Movement party in deciding whether she would pardon the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Anri Okhanashvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee, on Monday said "relevant state agencies" were ensuring the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili was "safe, provided with all necessary services, and served his sentence in an environment prescribed by the Georgian legislation".
A resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Friday welcomed the progress made by Georgia in honouring its obligations and commitments taken up as part of its membership in the body.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Sunday said the Georgian Government was pursuing a “pragmatic policy” designed to “avoid escalation and promote peace” in the wider region, in comments after accepting the Sabino Arana Prize in Spain for the development of Georgian-Basque ties and promotion of democracy and human rights.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili had "confirmed he is an ordinary agent" of a foreign state.