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Foreign Ministry Summons British Ambassador Amid Rising Tensions With Western Diplomats
Georgia's Foreign Ministry summoned British Ambassador Gareth Ward on September 25, a day after German Ambassador Peter Fischer was also called in, as the ruling Georgian Dream party continued its public campaign against Western envoys.
Neither Ambassador Ward nor the Foreign Ministry commented on the meeting. The summons came shortly after 27 European embassies, including the UK mission, released a joint statement rejecting what they described as "baseless and damaging accusations" leveled at diplomats in the country.
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze defended the government's approach, insisting that Western missions had crossed the line. "There is not only direct, blatant interference in politics, but also encouragement of radicalism and polarization, which, I repeat, is a gross violation of the Vienna Convention," he told reporters while the British envoy was at the ministry.
Kobakhidze accused ambassadors of being "directly involved in political processes," calling this "a gross violation of the principle of democracy and a gross violation of the Vienna Convention." He described the summons as "a normal diplomatic measure" aimed at "returning the ambassador to the diplomatic framework."
Pressed for specific examples, the prime minister alleged "direct interference in electoral processes" and pointed to diplomats attending court hearings "in order to exert influence on the work of judges."
Council of Europe Delegation Holds Fact-Finding Visit in Georgia
A delegation from the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is in Georgia on September 24-25 to assess the impact of the political situation on local authorities, with particular attention to the upcoming local elections.
The Congress underlined that the mission "should not be interpreted as political support for the legitimacy or positions of the interlocutors met."
The delegation is composed of Bernd Vöhringer, President of the Chamber of Local Authorities (Germany, EPP/CCE), Stewart Dickson, Congress Spokesperson on the Observation of Local and Regional Elections (United Kingdom, ILDG), and Prof. Tania Groppi, an expert with the Congress.
During the visit, the group is scheduled to meet with the Chairperson of the Central Election Commission, the First Deputy Public Defender, and the First Deputy Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Regional Policy and Self-Government. It will also hold talks with members of Georgia's national delegation to the Congress, the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia, NGOs, political parties, and media representatives.
