“Beyond standards”: Georgian Parliament official criticises foreign ambassadors’ involvement with opposition

Archil Gorduladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee, on Friday criticised several foreign ambassadors, claiming they have overstepped diplomatic norms and are openly cooperating with opposition-linked groups.

Gorduladze’s comments came after Peter Fischer, the German Ambassador to the country, met with the domestic opposition activists in the city of Batumi, in one of the cafes.

“We are witnessing a complete departure from any standard of diplomatic conduct by ambassadors from various countries. They have effectively become direct task-givers for different agent networks”, Gorduladze said.

He emphasised that this kind of behavior was particularly evident in the lead-up to the October 26 elections and has continued since then.

“This is not new. We saw it clearly during the pre-election period, and it continues today. The French Ambassador, the German Ambassador, and even EU representative Pawel Herczynski are doing the same. Herczynski has openly spoken about his desire to see members of the Georgian Government sanctioned,” he added.