Bidzina Ivanishvili, Honorary Chairman of Georgian Dream, and French President Emmanuel Macron had a telephone conversation. Both sides report on this. However, as it turns out, the Dream hasn’t distributed the entire conversation context.
Official French press release
Based on an official press release from the French presidential administration, Macron “condemned the threats against representatives of civil society, as well as the violence perpetrated by law enforcement forces against peaceful demonstrators and journalists.”
He called for the release of those arbitrarily detained for the respect of freedom of expression and assembly. Macron reiterated his concern over Georgia’s deviation from the European trajectory and reaffirmed his belief that the decisions that have been taken or will be taken will have an impact on relations between the European Union and Georgia.
The French president called for an inclusive dialogue with all political groups and representatives of civil society, while respecting the European aspirations and democratic spirit of the Georgian people, which he welcomed once again.
Georgian Dream press release
Based on the Georgian Dream press release, the conversation lasted an hour, during which Macron noted that he was “concerned about the situation in Georgia” and expressed his “desire to contribute” to the complete de-escalation of the situation. In turn, Bidzina Ivanishvili thanked the French President for the initiative and welcomed the idea of joint efforts to de-escalate the situation.
The press release states that Ivanishvili and Macron agreed to continue contact in the coming days and assess the progress made.
Background
The telephone conversation was preceded by the visit of Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili to France, where she met with her French and American counterparts. The Georgian President stated that she had an in-depth discussion with President-elect Trump and President Macron.
“I exposed the stolen elections and the extremely alarming repression against the Georgian people. I emphasized the need for a strong United States. The Georgian people have a friend in the form of Donald Trump. God bless the United States of America,” the Georgian President said.
Related story: President: At the meeting with Trump, I discussed stolen elections and alarming repressions against Georgian people
By Ana Dumbadze
