Georgian FM accuses Finnish counterpart of violating international norms during Tbilisi visit

Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili on Monday said the Finnish Foreign Minister had violated all international norms and rules that applied in such cases, when a representative of the chairing country visited any participating state within the framework of the OSCE.

In her interview with Rustavi 2 TV channel, Botchorishvili noted that the Georgian Government had acted within the framework allowed by international rules.

“The Finnish Foreign Minister was in Georgia with a specific mandate, the mandate of a visit by the Foreign Minister of the OSCE Chairing country. This was a visit from the OSCE chairing country, which is carried out annually in Georgia. Although her visit, essentially at the end of the chairmanship, had no real value for Georgia, it would have indeed had value if she had come in January, February, or March, at the beginning of the year, when Finland’s chairmanship agenda was still ahead. That would have made sense. But at the end of the year, when only a month and a half of the chairmanship remains, one could question how meaningful such a visit really is”, Botchorishvili said.

“Despite this, based on Georgia's position and our principles of working with international organizations, we did not obstruct this visit, on the contrary, we facilitated it. The Finnish Foreign Minister visited Georgia as part of her South Caucasus tour in the capacity of the OSCE Chair. However, in reality, she violated all international norms and rules that apply when a representative of a chairing country visits any participating state within the OSCE framework. I think it became quite clear - there are 57 participating countries, and our response remained within the framework of diplomacy”, she continued.

Botchorishvili further added that the Georgian Government didn’t start making comments from the street or uploading videos on platform X, the Government acted within the boundaries that international rules allow.

“A note was sent, which was received by all OSCE participating states. This note received responses - and those responses are telling. Out of 57 countries, 10 supported and justified the Finnish Foreign Minister’s actions, let’s say, encouraged or endorsed her. That also means something. If only 10 out of 57 countries support your actions, perhaps it’s something to reflect on”, she concluded.