Parliament Speaker says Gov’t seeking “partners, not guardians” in relations with US
In his interview with Imedi TV, the Speaker noted it was “important” to stop “false” accusations and narratives against the Georgian people and the Georgian Government for the relations between the two countries to be rebooted. Photo: Parliament of Georgia
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Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday said the Georgian Government was seeking “partners and not guardians” on its relations with the United States.
Papuashvili’s comments came after the US Department of the Treasury this week sanctioned Zviad Kharazishvili, the Chief of the Georgian Interior Ministry’s Special Task Department, and his Deputy Mileri Lagazauri “for their involvement in serious human rights abuse during the violent response to peaceful protests against the foreign influence law” earlier this year.
In his interview with Imedi TV, the Speaker noted it was “important” to stop “false” accusations and narratives against the Georgian people and the Georgian Government for the relations between the two countries to be rebooted.
If someone wants to take care of us and lead us in the direction they think is right, it won't work this way. A strategic partnership is not like that. We are looking for partners, not guardians. What we are observing is a regrettable attitude”, he said.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday denounced the United States' latest sanctions against senior Georgian law enforcement officials, who he said had fought in the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, calling the move “an extreme insult to our state”.
The PM stressed the action was an example of “non-partnerly attitude from a country known not only as a partner but also as a strategic partner” for Georgia, and said the move was "fundamentally unacceptable".