Georgian PM “ready to provide evidence” of “direct threats” of “sharing fate” of Slovak counterpart
In his comments to the media the PM claimed this investigation “may be relevant for specific countries” but not for domestic authorities, adding a Georgian investigation was “not relevant for the reality of the country”. Photo: Government Administration
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday said he was “ready to provide evidence” to a foreign investigation on “direct threats” made towards him about “sharing the fate” of Robert Fico, the Slovak Prime Minister who was shot last month.
Kobakhidze’s comments followed his phone call last month with Olivér Várhelyi, the European Union Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, who the Georgian PM said had “listed a number of measures” Western officials could take if the Georgian President’s veto on the controversial domestic law on transparency of foreign influence was overcome by the ruling Georgian Dream party.
In his comments to the media the PM claimed this investigation “may be relevant for specific countries” but not for domestic authorities, adding a Georgian investigation was “not relevant for the reality of the country”.
I do not think that [...] the threat was calculated with an outcome in mind, therefore, I do not see the interest of starting an investigation in Georgia. It is a fact that a confession followed all this. It was a direct confession - we were told that the result of certain processes could be the liquidation of the highest political official”, he said.
It was a feeble attempt at intimidation. From this it can be seen that those people and those forces who are blackmailing Georgia sometimes with the [EU] candidate status, sometimes by opening or not opening accession talks with the country, are in a rather weak position”, the official added.
Várhelyi last month commented on Kobakhidze’s original remark on May 23 about the conversation, expressing “very sincere regret” that a “certain part” of the call had been “taken out of context”.
The EU official said he had “felt the need” to call the attention of the Georgian PM to the importance of “not inflaming the already fragile situation further” by adopting the law, which he said could lead to “further polarisation and to possible uncontrolled situations on the streets of Tbilisi”.
He also added “in this regard, the latest tragic event in Slovakia was made as an example and as a reference to where such a high level of polarisation can lead in a society even in Europe”.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Thursday claimed the unspecified European Commissioner had “listed a number of measures” Western politicians might take if the Georgian President’s veto on the recently adopted law on transparency of foreign influence was overcome by the ruling Georgian Dream party in a phone conversation.
The Georgian Parliament on Tuesday adopted in the final hearing the bill on transparency of foreign influence, reintroduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party on the backdrop of ongoing public protests.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday said the alleged “threat” from unspecified European Commissioner to Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze over overcoming the President’s veto on the recently adopted transparency of foreign influence law was “shocking”.
The Georgian Parliament on Tuesday overrode a veto placed by the country’s President Salome Zourabichvili on the controversial law on transparency of foreign influence with 84 votes against four, on the backdrop of ongoing public protests.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday formally signed the domestic controversial law on transparency of foreign influence, which requires registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.