Tbilisi Mayor Kaladze condemns physical confrontation in parliament

Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze has condemned the recent physical altercation in Georgia's parliament, saying political disagreements should never escalate into violence.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Kaladze said the incident that took place in parliament several days ago was regrettable and did not reflect what the public expects from elected officials.

“What happened in parliament was certainly not pleasant to watch. I don't think this is what society expects,” Kaladze said.

“We, as politicians, may have fundamentally different political views, but that does not mean we should resort to physical confrontation.”

Kaladze stressed that lawmakers should respect the institution of parliament and resolve disagreements through political debate rather than verbal or physical abuse.

“Everyone should respect the institution of parliament. It is better for disagreements to be addressed through political and professional discussion rather than verbal or physical insults. What happened was a very unfortunate incident and is certainly not welcome,” he said.

The mayor declined to comment on who was responsible for the altercation, saying it was not his role to determine the facts.

“I am neither a prosecutor nor an investigator, so I will not go into the details of who started it or exactly what happened. Society saw everything for itself,” Kaladze said.

He also called on politicians to exercise restraint despite the often-heated nature of political debate.

“I understand that we are Georgians and that we are emotional. I understand it is difficult when someone insults you verbally, but self-restraint is important. We have a great responsibility before society, and we must rise above such behavior,” he said.

Kaladze added that while similar incidents occur in other countries' legislatures, they are never desirable.

“It is unfortunate that such an incident happened in our parliament as well,” he said.