Parliament official urges Kallas to address family ties with Russia instead of interfering in Georgia

David Matikashvili, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party and Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on Procedural Issues and Rules, on Monday called on Kaja Kallas, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, to focus on restricting her own family's business ties with Russia instead of interfering in the internal affairs of other countries.

Kallas had previously expressed concerns over the detention of individuals in Georgia, stating that “we are concerned about the arrests of people in Georgia and are putting pressure on those responsible for violence against peaceful protesters”.

“It would be better for Kaja Kallas to put pressure on her own family and restrict their business relations with Russians, rather than interfering in the internal affairs of other countries”, the Parliament official said in reference to the 2023 reports alleging that Stark Logistics, a company partly owned by Kallas’s husband Arvo Hallik, continued to do business in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.

He further criticised the EU bureaucracy, accusing it of unfairly and groundlessly meddling in the affairs of other nations, not in the interest of those countries, the EU, or European values, but rather in the interest of the deep state and European bureaucracy.

Matikashvili suggested that the EU should take inspiration from the United States and the progressive ideas emanating from Washington to curb the unbridled attempts to interfere in the affairs of other countries.