The impeachment procedure will not help Georgia become a stable and strong country with strong state institutions, Ambassador of the European Union in Georgia Pawel Herczynski told journalists.
“I am a foreign diplomat, I need to be really careful because I don’t want to interfere in the internal affairs of Georgia. We want Georgia to be a stable, strong country, with very strong institutions. So, of course, the impeachment procedure is not what is going to help Georgia to become a stable and strong country with strong state institutions,” the ambassador said.
In addition, when asked whether the topic of impeachment was discussed at the meeting with President Salome Zurabishvili, the ambassador answered that “The main topic of our meeting was the European integration of Georgia.”
“Those oppositionists who support the impeachment of the President will be involved in sabotaging the European agenda together with Georgian Dream, – Lelo MP Salome Samadashvili told reporters, noting that Lelo will not participate in the voting, even if the opposition agrees to do so.
“The impeachment of Salome Zurabishvili is a step towards the sabotage of the European agenda, therefore any oppositionist who supports the impeachment will be involved in sabotaging the European agenda together with the Georgian Dream, and I am sure that they will be paid for it, because without direct bribery, I do not believe that an opposition deputy will be found in the parliament who will support this. Voting is secret, so the initiative for the opposition not to attend the voting is understandable. We do not have a problem. Even if the opposition agrees on this, we will not participate in the voting,” she said.
Regarding Irakli Garibashvili’s suggested impeachment, Samadashvili noted that “this is only one episode in a long corrupt history connected with the Garibashvili-Tamazashvili clan.”
The MP said she believes that the opposition should demonstrate through the impeachment that it is fighting corruption, which is one of the recommendations of the European Union.
“We have already held consultations with several political groups and we will continue these consultations. At the same time, we are working on the formal side of the procedure, which is related to the preparation of the relevant document. When the European Union demands we fight against corruption, when the European Union unequivocally tells us that the government does not fulfill the requirements, it is the opposition’s obligation to demonstrate in this situation that we are seriously combating corruption, and the impeachment procedure is important for this,” she said.
The President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, met with representatives of the opposition on Tuesday in Orbeliani Palace: Lelo for Georgia member Salome Samadashvili, For Georgia party members Ana Buchukuri and Natia Mezvrishvili, and Eurooptimists deputy Khatia Dekanoidze.
The opposition politicians said after the meeting that the main topic of the conversation was the 12 recommendations of the European Commission and Georgia’s candidate status.
According to the oppositionists, the meetings were held individually.
“The topic of discussion was what can be done by society, the Georgian people, so that we don’t lose this historic chance and the country, despite the sabotage of Georgian Dream, gets the candidate status,” Samadashvili said after the meeting.
Ana Buchukuri said she spoke with the President about the European integration process.
“We talked about how we can help and promote the country, the European integration process. The candidate status is fundamentally important for the country. We hope that due to geopolitical reasons, a positive decision will be made in the end and the door of the European Union will not be closed for Georgia,” she said.
Khatia Dekanoidze, stated that she once again told the President that she will not support the impeachment process, as it is part of the anti-Western propaganda.
“I told her that I do not support the impeachment, and this is my very firm position. I think that the impeachment is part of the anti-Western policy and propaganda that Georgian Dream is running. In addition, the President continues active international campaigning and work in the context of having candidate status granted to Georgia. We talked about this. It was just an exchange of information, nothing specific was discussed,” she said.
“I believe that any intention of the government to deprive the country of the chance to leave the post-Soviet space is doomed, – the former chairman of the United National Movement, Nika Melia, said after his own meeting with the President of Georgia.
He added that the meeting, he and the President talked about “all issues,” and the least time was devoted to her impeachment.
“To be honest, we talked about all the issues that may concern every patriotic citizen of this country. As for the impeachment hearing that will be held in October, I personally believe that any intention of the government to deprive the country of the chance to leave the post-Soviet space is doomed.
“I got the impression that President Zurabishvili does not think much about who will vote for it and who won’t, who will be bribed and who won’t. It is possible that Georgian Dream really believes that the meetings are held here in order to ensure that her impeachment does not happen, but actually the least time was devoted to this issue. She is absolutely calm about this matter. I personally think that if this happens, Bidzina Ivanishvili’s government will get the opposite result than they plan, and it will not make the West abandon the Georgian people,” Melia concluded.
By Team GT
