Georgian Parliament Speaker challenges UK Ambassador on funding for domestic “extremist agenda” groups

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday criticised the recent remarks by the British Embassy, calling it “unbecoming buffoonery unworthy of the Georgian audience”, and urged the Ambassador to respond to what he described as legitimate questions from the Georgian public.

“Instead of dubbing the host Government ‘a party’ and similar unbecoming buffoonery unworthy of Georgian audience, it would be better if the British Ambassador answered the legitimate question asked by the Georgians: why did he intend to fund those with extremist agenda, such as EuroUNM’s ‘Tabula’ or the UNM’s ‘Gia Japaridze’, the declared objective of which is foiling municipal elections. Or, why did he want to fund those, who, in his own words, undermine Georgia’s sovereignty, sow discord and disrupt the lives of ordinary Georgian people’?” the Speaker said.

The British Embassy on Friday published a letter from the UK Government, highlighting the close cooperation between the UK and Georgia in strengthening cyber resilience, particularly following Russia’s 2019 cyber-attack against Georgian institutions.

However, the letter also noted that despite the persistent threat from Russian hybrid activity, Georgia’s ruling party has in recent years moved away from Euro-Atlantic cooperation.