President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Pia Kauma, has announced the postponement of her scheduled visit to Georgia, originally planned for January 8–10. The decision was shared via social media, where she emphasized the importance of timing for the Assembly’s engagement to be effective amid criticism against the potential trip.
“Following discussions and after close consideration, I have decided to postpone visiting Georgia until a time that the OSCE PA’s engagement would be most effective. We remain ready to listen to all voices and offer assistance in implementing OSCE/ODIHR election recommendations”, she said.
The announcement follows earlier remarks by Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who suggested the visit would not aid in resolving the country’s political crisis sparked by “rigged” October 26 general elections and the Government’s decision in November to halt EU accession talks until 2028.
Additionally, Kauma’s decision has drawn criticism from several international figures, including Latvian and Lithuanian MEPs Rihard Kohl and Rasa Juknevičienė, German Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael Roth, and US Congressman Joe Wilson, who also chairs the US Helsinki Commission.
More than 40 days in Georgia demonstrators are demanding an election rerun and release of “political prisoners” detained during the protests.
