Kaladze Slams European Diplomats' Speech at Rally as "Hostility" and "Coup Attempt"

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"The country is facing an attempt from external forces to foment a coup or revolution. This is evidenced by the presence of foreigners who attended the rally directly. I cannot imagine a stronger indication of this agenda than what we have witnessed," stated Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and General Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream,in response to the speeches delivered by foreign ministers of European countries at the rally against the Russian Law.

After a journalist referred to the "four friendly foreign ministers of the country," Kaladze continued,

"This is not friendship; this is outright enmity, an attempt to sow division in the country.

We must call things by their proper names. We have uncovered the orchestrators of these actions, the radical groups, the donors, and their foreign sources of funding. Everything is transparent and clear."

Additionally, Kaladze accused President Salome Zourabichvili of inciting violence.

On May 15, the foreign ministers of Lithuania, Estonia, Iceland, and Latvia visited Georgia. They met with the president, the chairman of the parliament, the prime minister, as well as representatives of opposition parties and non-governmental organizations.

"Political polarization should not be addressed by simply banning alternative views. Such methods can never be compatible with EU membership, and I reiterated this clearly during our meeting," stated Lithuanian diplomat Gabrielius Landsbergis after meeting with the Prime Minister.

At the end of the day, the foreign ministers held a press conference for journalists and then joined the demonstration against the Russian Law on so-called Foreign Agents on Rustaveli Avenue, where they addressed the protesters.

On May 13, the chairmen of the foreign affairs committees of the parliaments of Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, and Finland also attended the rally. Bundestag representative Michael Roth urged the demonstrators not to give up and called on the authorities to repeal the Russian law and "come back to Europe." In response, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused them of interfering in Georgia's internal affairs.

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