Georgian PM accuses EU Ambassador of threatening Georgians with “civil war, poverty”

Georgian prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on Thursday that the European Union’s ambassador to Georgia had threatened the Georgian people with the prospect of civil war and economic hardship, describing the remarks as “tragic”.

In his remarks, Kobakhidze noted the ambassador’s suggestion that the country would soon face a decisive choice regarding its future development - either along a path aligned with the European Union or toward what he described as civil war and poverty.

“When an EU ambassador speaks to the people in this way, it does not even deserve evaluation - it is truly tragic”, he said.

The PM added that summoning the ambassador to Georgia’s ministry of foreign affairs would be appropriate in response to what he called a “grave statement”.

“We have gone through five attempts to stage a revolution in our country over the past four years. The ambassador appeared ahead of the [2024] parliamentary elections and called on the Georgian people to bring back the [opposition] United National Movement [party]”, he said.

“He directly called on [citizens] to mobilise, to remove this government, and to bring the UNM back to power. He was openly urging the Georgian people to do this. Through his statements, he was effectively pushing the Georgian people back into the bloody, dark nine-year period”, Kobakhidze continued.

He concluded by emphasising that this reflected the ambassador’s mindset.

“It is tragic when the EU ambassador speaks in this way and adds to it a direct threat of civil war and impoverishment for the Georgian people”, the prime minister concluded.