Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has sharply criticized several Western diplomats, accusing ambassadors from the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Germany of violating core diplomatic principles and interfering in Georgia’s internal political processes.
Speaking to journalists after the summoning of UK Ambassador Gareth Ward to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 25, Kobakhidze said that certain ambassadors in Tbilisi “blatantly violate principles and rules,” which he described as unacceptable. “An ambassador in Georgia should behave as befits an ambassador, not as a politician,” the Prime Minister stated, adding: “Not everyone behaves like the ambassadors of the EU, Britain, and Germany, thank God.”
Kobakhidze claimed that Georgia’s government expects these diplomats to “return to the diplomatic framework” and act in line with international norms. He stressed that their conduct constitutes a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which obliges diplomats to refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of the host country.
“Everyone sees that specific ambassadors are directly involved in political processes, which is a gross violation of the principle of democracy. They must follow the rules, they must follow the principles. This is the European approach. Ambassadors cannot act with Soviet approaches,” Kobakhidze said.
He accused Western envoys of encouraging political radicalism and polarization in Georgia, pointing to what he called “direct interference” in electoral processes. “The EU ambassador openly called on voters to mobilize against the government — there can be no more blatant violation of the Vienna Convention than this. Ambassadors also went directly to court proceedings to influence the work of judges, which is equally unacceptable,” he remarked.
Kobakhidze compared the situation to France, recalling that President Emmanuel Macron had strongly reacted to an instance of perceived interference by an ambassador in French domestic politics. “Here in Georgia, however, we are seeing not only interference, but also active attempts to incite instability,” he added.
The Prime Minister further claimed that the actions of European diplomats reflect “serious problems within the European bureaucracy.” In his words, ambassadors act not independently, but as representatives of their governments and institutions: “When you summon an ambassador, you are addressing the state. The fact that these ambassadors behave in such a way only shows the deep crisis within European bureaucratic structures.”
This week’s diplomatic tensions come amid back-to-back summons of senior Western envoys to the Foreign Ministry. On September 24, German Ambassador Peter Fischer was called in for consultations, marking the first time in modern Georgian-German relations that such a step had been taken. A day later, on September 25, UK Ambassador Gareth Ward was also summoned, although neither side disclosed details of the discussions.
The government’s harsh rhetoric underscores growing strains in Georgia’s relations with its Western partners, at a time when the country’s EU integration process and democratic trajectory remain under close international scrutiny.
Image: IPN
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