Papuashvili “Unable” to Meet with European Parliament Foreign Committee Chairmen

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The Georgian Parliament Chairman, Shalva Papuashvili, stated that he will be unable to meet with the chairmen of the foreign relations committees of the parliaments of Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Baltic countries, who are planning to visit Georgia on May 13-14. During these days, the parliament is scheduled to discuss the third and final reading of the Russian Law.

“The chairmen of the Foreign Relations Committees of several countries - primarily the Baltic states, Germany, as well as Poland, and the Czech Republic, if I'm not mistaken - expressed their desire to visit, with some of them aiming to meet with me. I informed them that it would not be an opportune time for their visit on May 13-14, Monday-Tuesday, as the parliament will be conducting the third reading of the bill, making it unsuitable for substantive discussions. I suggested that it would be more appropriate to schedule a meeting for a later time, after these discussions have concluded.

We are, of course, ready to discuss any issue and generally appreciate collegial cooperation with other parliaments. As I understand, they are still planning to come. However, I also informed them that due to the violent nature of previous rallies and indications of potential violence during the upcoming rally, their visit might be seen by the radical opposition as an encouragement for radical actions. I advised them to take this into consideration. Unfortunately, I will not be able to meet them due to the third reading of the issues scheduled for Monday-Tuesday. Regrettably, my advice was not heeded," Papuashvili said at today's briefing.

On April 5, the chairmen of the foreign relations committees of the parliaments of 12 countries - the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Norway, and the United Kingdom - called on Georgian Dream to withdraw the Russian Law. In their joint statement, they expressed concern that re-initiating the law would undermine Georgia's European perspective and candidate status.

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