Georgia’s foreign office on Thursday said Anne Toft Sørensen, the Danish Ambassador to the country, had explained that her article, in which she mentioned Bidzina Ivanishvili, the former PM and the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, as an “oligarch”, intended to express her country’s support for Georgia’s European integration and stressed “it is unfortunate that opponents used it in a negative context”.
Sørensen was summoned by the Foreign Ministry following the article being posted on the Danish news portal Jyllands-Posten on Wednesday, which saw the Ambassador say “the oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili built a fortune in Russia in the 90s”.
At the meeting, held at the Ministry, the Georgian side said the Ambassador’s publication was used for “political interpretation by certain forces”, which “naturally” prevented the “effective implementation” of the main priority, outlined by the European Union for the country – depolarization.
“We see an excerpt from a Danish article being used out of context in Georgian debates. The Embassy has no desire to contribute to the above and refrains from making additional comments,” – reads the statement released by the Danish Embassy in Georgia.
The Embassy issued a statement regarding the feedback to the article of the Ambassador, Anne Toft Sørensen, published in a Danish newspaper, and explained that Denmark has continuously supported Georgia on its path to Euro-Atlantic integration.
“The article was written for a Danish newspaper after the historic decision to grant EU candidate status to Georgia. The article highlights Georgia’s clear desire to continue its EU integration and focuses on the contribution that Denmark can make to support Georgia, including through its newly opened Embassy. Denmark has continuously supported Georgia on its path to Euro-Atlantic integration, and will remain a supporter of cooperation in the implementation of reforms for Georgia’s accession to the European Union.
“We see an excerpt from a Danish article being used out of context in Georgian debates. The Embassy has no desire to contribute to the above and refrains from making additional comments,” reads the statement.
“The ruling Georgian Dream party, founded by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, who amassed his fortune in Russia in the 1990s, has been in power since 2012. The opposition, led by Saakashvili’s United National Movement party, constantly boycotts parliamentary work and accuses the authorities of politicizing the courts, suppressing free media and harassing members of the opposition,” the Ambassador wrote.
