Georgian Parliament official: numerous positive signals emerging in Georgia-Germany relations

Levan Makhashvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on European Integration, on Tuesday said that Georgia-Germany relations have entered a different phase with many positive impulses emerging.

Makhashvili described the recent actions as the long-awaited normal diplomatic step that demonstrates respect for the Georgian people’s choice and basic protocol.

“What happened is what we had been waiting for so long - the taking of a normal diplomatic step. We were not asking Germany for anything extraordinary; we were asking for a basic step that would demonstrate that normal, protocol-based or other types of relations exist between the two countries, and that would show a certain respect for the choice of the Georgian people and for the country in general”, Makhashvili said.

He noted that a great deal depends on the competence and attitude of an ambassador, and that Fischer’s particularly rigid and harsh stance had contributed significantly to bringing relations to an impasse.

“The fact that Georgian-German relations have been brought to a kind of impasse today is partly due to the special role played by the former ambassador, Peter Fischer. A great deal depends on an ambassador - their competence, professionalism, diplomacy, and so on. This is precisely the situation we are dealing with: Germany’s position may be critical, but its diplomatic representative had an especially rigid and harsh attitude toward Georgia, which ultimately brought us to the reality we have reached”, he noted.

The official emphasised that just days after Fischer’s departure, Germany took positive and normal steps that should be standard under ordinary circumstances.

“What happened today confirms precisely this: just a few days after the ambassador [Peter Fischer] left, Germany took positive and normal steps - steps that every country should take under normal circumstances”, he stressed.

Makhashvili concluded that many positive impulses have now emerged in bilateral relations.