Georgian Parliament Speaker says responsible policy needed to defend country, promote peace

Georgian Parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday said it is important for Georgia to maintain contacts and relations with every country in the region with which it has diplomatic ties, stressing that developments in the region directly affect Georgia.

Papuashvili responded to a question about how he assesses relations between Georgia and Iran, including criticism related to ties with Iran.

In his interview with Rustavi 2 TV channel, the speaker noted that when major powers clash, smaller states face the greatest risks.

“First of all, with every country with which we have diplomatic relations, our approach is to maintain state-level relations, especially when it concerns countries in the region”, he said.

“What is happening in the region affects us, therefore it is important for us to maintain appropriate contacts, connections and relations with all countries in the region with which we have diplomatic ties. This is particularly relevant when we speak about Iran, a country that has existed in this region alongside us for centuries, and accordingly relations between states are important”, Papuashvili continued.

Papuashvili further noted that a country either maintains diplomatic relations and acts accordingly, or remains in confrontation without diplomatic ties, as is the case with Russia in Georgia’s situation.

“If we assess the actions of our opponents, including in recent days, their evaluations of the government’s statements, the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as our own statements and actions, and compare them with their alternative proposals, they would have found themselves in the same war within a minute, just as they previously attempted to drag Georgia into the Russia-Ukraine war”, the speaker pointed out.

“Therefore, responsible policy is what matters now. When major powers clash, smaller states face the greatest risk. At such times, the only and main policy that can exist is a responsible policy - to promote peace in every possible way and to protect our citizens and our state domestically, as well as our citizens abroad, which is what our Government is doing today”, Papuashvili concluded.