The administration of the Georgian Government has responded to the Presidential Administration’s recent statement saying that Salome Zourabichvili’s visit to Strasbourg was canceled due to the government’s “artificially protracted approval process.”
"We wish to comment on the statement made by the President of Georgia on the adjournment of a visit to Strasburg.
We emphasize that claims about the Government of Georgia artificially delaying a process of approval, which allegedly became the reason for the adjournment of the visit, is false and far from being true.
The President of Georgia received a verbal consent of the Government of Georgia regarding a visit planned to Strasbourg at the beginning of March 2023, during her visit to the USA. The work-related process and specification of technical details was carried out by and between the Government Administration and the Administration of the President of Georgia. The final, specified letter from the Administration of the President to the Government Administration arrived yesterday – on April 12, while a written consent was communicated back on the following day – on April 13 in relation to a Working Visit to Strasbourg in the Republic of France scheduled for April 17-19, 2023.
Also, the President of Georgia was sent a written consent regarding a Working Visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
We note hereby that consent to the President’s Working Visits to the Republic of France and the Kingdom of Belgium scheduled for March 13-16, was issued by the Government Administration on March 13 on the grounds of a letter received from the Administration of President on March 10, 2023. Accordingly, the Government Administration acted in a most efficient manner when issuing consents both in the case of previous visits, as well as in connection with the referred one", - the statmnet reads.
The Presidential Administration on Thursday explained the reasons behind the cancellation of the President’s visit to Strasbourg. The European Parliament (EP) invited Salome Zourabichvili to address MEPs on April 18.
According to the statement, “Due to the Georgian government’s artificially protracted approval process, the President of Georgia has opted to postpone a crucial visit to Strasbourg, believing that this should be a step towards depolarization rather than the other way around.”
