Danish Ambassador says it’s “pity” that “opponents” used her article in “negative context” - foreign office

Georgia’s foreign office on Thursday said Anne Toft Sørensen, the Danish Ambassador to the country, had explained that her article, in which the latter mentioned Bidzina Ivanishvili, the former PM and the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, as an “oligarch”, intended to express her country’s support for Georgia’s European integration and stressed “it is unfortunate that opponents used it in a negative context”.

Sørensen was summoned by the Foreign Ministry, following the article posted on the Danish news portal Jyllands-Posten on Wednesday, which saw the Ambassador say “the oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili built a fortune in Russia in the 90s”. 

At the meeting, held at the Ministry, the Georgian side said the Ambassador’s publication was used for “political interpretation by certain forces”, which “naturally” prevented the “effective implementation” of the main priority, outlined by the European Union for the country - depolarisation.

• Danish Ambassador summoned to Georgian foreign office over comment on former PM

The Georgian side also noted it was “regrettable” that the article contained “significant factual inaccuracies and biased assessments”, and stressed the article would not contribute to the formation of “a positive attitude of the international community, including Danish readers, towards Georgia”.

Earlier today, Sørensen's publication was criticised by Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and the Secretary General of Georgian Dream, who called the Ambassador’s comment on Ivanishvili “filth”.

In its comments on the controversy, the Danish Embassy said the "excerpt from a Danish article" was "being used out of context in Georgian debates”, and added it had "no desire to contribute to the above" and would refrain from making additional comments.

Former PM Ivanishvili returned to domestic politics in late December by being elected the Honorary Chair of Georgian Dream.