Former US Congressman Adam Kinzinger on Tuesday asked Georgian Dream ruling party head how much he was “being paid” by Russians to defend their interests, in response to Irakli Kobakhidze’s criticism to Kelly Degnan, the US Ambassador to Georgia, over the protests in Batumi, western Georgia, related to the entry of a Russian cruise ship. 

“Russia killed your people and occupy 20 percent of your country. How much are they paying you to sell your soul to defend them? Get a haircut, Irakli, and look into your soul. You need to get help”, Kinzinger said in his social media post. 

Kobakhidze on Tuesday said it was “not the Ambassador’s business” to speak with the name of the Georgian people.  In her comments, the diplomat said on Monday “no one should wait for Georgians to welcome the citizens from the country that occupies its territories”, responding to protests in Batumi port over the entry of Astoria Grande, boarding Russian nationals.  “To put it mildly, it was an incomprehensible statement. No one thinks that way, what Kelly Degnan said, that is not how the public representatives in Georgia think, that no

Russians should come to Georgia”, Kobakhidze claimed, adding “the vast majority of the public has a different opinion”.  He added “when you easily say such phrases related to the loss of a billion dollars by the country, I do not know what assessment to make”.