Michael Roth invites PM Kobakhidze to discuss EU’s concerns about democracy in Georgia

Michael Roth, a German MP and head of the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee, extended a public invitation to Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, urging a conversation on democracy and freedom in Georgia. The invitation, which Roth posted on social media, offered to meet Kobakhidze at the PM’s “favorite cafe in Tbilisi,” with a suggested date of Monday for the meeting.

The offer comes amid heightened EU scrutiny of Georgia’s political trajectory. Recently, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, issued a joint statement expressing concerns over Georgia’s internal political situation and calling on Georgian authorities to implement democratic reforms.

Kobakhidze responded to the joint statement by criticizing Scholz, suggesting that the German chancellor should focus on his “own problems,” referencing Scholz’s management of his coalition government. “I think the German chancellor should be more concerned about his own problems and not make statements about Georgian issues,” Kobakhidze remarked.