Finland denies Georgian claim over cancelled meeting between PM Kobakhidze and FM Valtonen

Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs has denied claims by the Georgian government that Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze cancelled a planned meeting with visiting Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Finnish ministry said the meeting was in fact cancelled by Finland itself, citing scheduling reasons.

“The claim that Georgia’s Prime Minister cancelled the meeting with Minister Valtonen is incorrect. The meeting was cancelled yesterday evening by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs due to scheduling reasons,” the statement read.

Earlier in the day, Georgia’s government administration had announced that Kobakhidze cancelled the meeting because Valtonen had attended what it described as an “illegal protest rally” during her visit to Tbilisi.