Georgian ruling party MP slams EU Foreign Policy Chief over remarks on government

Giorgi Gabunia, Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Culture Committee, has criticised EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas following her statement that the European Union supports the Georgian people but not the country’s government.

In a post published on social media, Gabunia accused Kallas of backing what he described as “October radicals” and questioned her criticism of a “government elected by Georgian voters.”

He argued that Georgia had paid a high price to break away from the Soviet Union and warned against what he portrayed as attempts to replace one form of external domination with another.

“Georgia broke away from the red empire at the cost of blood, and now we are being told to join a blue empire, only to see the same reality once again,” Gabunia wrote. He added that, in his view, an “independent and dignified Georgia” was not desired by foreign actors, who instead sought a compliant and subordinate country.

Kallas had earlier said that the EU stands with the Georgian people but would not advance Georgia’s EU accession process while the government continues, in Brussels’ assessment, to move away from democratic standards, human rights and the rule of law.