Georgian PM rejects German Ambassador’s “speculation” on “politically motivated hostility” in country

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday said Peter Fischer, the German Ambassador to the country, was engaged in “speculation” after the diplomat posted comments by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on “politically motivated hostility and attacks” being “on the rise”.

Fischer on Monday posted a quote from Scholz that claimed the unspecified developments and added “we have no tolerance for hatred and violence”, with the Georgian PM claiming the Ambassador had used the unrelated comment to refer to developments on the Georgian political scene.

The PM called the statement “very sad” and added “specific [domestic] TV stations” had “used this tweet of the German Ambassador to spread disinformation”.

“It was presented as if the German Chancellor was talking about the current situation in Georgia, when he was talking about, if I am not mistaken, a murder that was committed in Germany five years ago”, Kobakhidze said.

It is very sad when first the German Ambassador deliberately gives a source for spreading disinformation to specific media outlets, and then the media outlets grab it. This is sad, but it is not our problem - it is the problem of the German state, when its Ambassador, the official representative, is distinguished by such frivolous actions. All this, of course, should become the subject of attention of the German state”, he continued.

The PM stressed Germany was “our friend and partner country”, and further pointed out “no Ambassador will be able to drive a wedge in this traditional friendship and partnership, which the current Ambassador is trying to do”.

Kobakhidze also extended his gratitude to Germany by acknowledging that “when Georgia regained its state independence, German support played a special role in the construction of our statehood, and we can only thank the German state for that”.