Georgia’s Foreign Minister, Maka Botchorishvili, is meeting with the EU Ambassador to Georgia, Pawel Herczyński, at the Avlabari Residence.
The summons follows remarks made by Herczyński several days ago at an event held in Brussels at the European External Action Service, which several Georgian media outlets subsequently circulated: “Georgia stands at a crossroads. Georgia’s future has not yet been written, but what is decided in the coming weeks and months will determine whether Georgia belongs to the family of European nations founded on democracy, the rule of law and human rights, or whether, regrettably, it returns to its dark past.” The Ambassador added: “We must not allow Georgia, and the wonderful, warm, hospitable Georgian people, to return to a dark era of violence, civil war, poverty, hardship and corruption.”
On April 23, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze declared that “the EU Ambassador is threatening the Georgian people with civil war and impoverishment, and that is a direct threat. It is therefore appropriate that the Ambassador be summoned to the Foreign Ministry.”
Foreign Minister Botchorishvili had similarly signalled on April 24: “The diplomatic service has its own channels through which to respond, and we shall make use of them. We will have the opportunity to receive Pawel Herczyński at the Foreign Ministry.”
