Georgian Vice PM denounces domestic opposition’s “detrimental” statements on FM’s visit to OSCE Ministerial

Thea Tsulukiani, the Vice Prime Minister of Georgia, on Friday denounced the domestic opposition’s claims that said Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili should not have featured at the Ministerial Council of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe due to the invitation to the event of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Tsulukiani rejected the comments as being “directed to the detriment of the country's interests”.  

When high-ranking officials from Brussels and the United States arrived at the OSCE Ministerial, while the opposition told us that Ilia Darchiashvili should not have gone [there], this once again shows that the opposition’s [actions] are directed to the detriment of the country's interests”, she alleged. 

The official backed Darchiashvili’s attendance at the event “side by side” with his European and American counterparts for “protect[ion of] the interests of the country”.

Earlier today, Darchiashvili commented on the claims by saying the OSCE was the “largest organisation that works on security matters, and I do not understand the groundless hype created by opponents in Georgia”.

The FM added his Government was using “all opportunities and platforms where possible to pursue the country’s interests”.