Former Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has criticized Shalva Papuashvili, the parliamentary chairman of Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party, over controversial comments regarding Lithuanian behavior.
In a post on Platform X on Monday, Landsbergis responded to Papuashvili’s remarks made the day before, where the Georgian official compared Lithuanian customs to “spitting on food” during a corporate party for judges at a Tbilisi restaurant on Sunday.
“Spitting in food is the most shameful behavior”, Papuashvili said, following claims that the personnel in the hotel had spitted in the food of the “Government-affiliated judges”, amid ongoing protests against the halted EU integration.
Landsbergis responded sharply, writing on Platform X that “oppressive regimes should be careful when comparing their opponents to Lithuanians, because Lithuanians have a history of winning this kind of thing”.
Papuashvili’s comments came amid heightened tensions in Georgia, where pro-European protests have been ongoing for 47 days. These protests were sparked by the Georgian Dream government’s refusal to prioritize European Union membership negotiations until 2028, as well as allegations of electoral fraud in the 2024 parliamentary elections.
Protests outside the Babilo restaurant intensified Sunday, with demonstrators making calls to spit on the food served to the judges attending the event. Protesters also threw eggs at the judges and chanted slogans as the judges walked through what they called the “corridor of shame.” Large police forces, including Special Tasks Department officers, were deployed to the scene, resulting in nine administrative detentions.
