Georgian Parliament official says Georgia will continue working within OSCE PA unless red lines are crossed

Levan Makhashvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on European Integration, on Thursday said Georgia would continue participating in the work of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly despite protesting the adoption of its latest declaration, stressing the country would remain engaged as long as its “red lines” were not crossed.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Makhashvili noted that the Georgian delegation had expressed its position throughout the Assembly's work, including during committee meetings, political group discussions and through official statements, but could not support the final declaration in its adopted form.

“International law, despite its shortcomings, remains international law, and we respect the organizations that regulate these processes. We voiced our position wherever possible, within committees, political groups and through public statements. However, considering the way the resolution was incorporated into the declaration, we could not support it. That is why we left the voting session on the declaration in protest”, he said.

“Many people asked whether this meant we had left the Assembly altogether. We made it clear that we simply could not participate in that particular vote. As for the rest of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's work, we intend to continue participating, unless our red lines are seriously crossed”, Makhashvili concluded.