Parliament Speaker says foreign ambassadors should represent their countries, not act as mentors to Georgia

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Saturday issued a sharp critique of certain foreign diplomats' conduct in Georgia, emphasising that ambassadors must act as envoys, not mentors, and should refrain from interfering in the country’s internal affairs.

In a social media message, Papuashvili warned against the misuse of diplomatic roles as tools for propaganda, political meddling, or regime change, claiming such behaviour contradicts both diplomatic norms and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

“As peace, finally, re-emerges, as the most desired goal of regional and world politics, our foreign partners must bring diplomacy back, as the most important vehicle for understanding, peacemaking and co-operation. What we have often seen in the last few years, sadly, is the use of diplomacy not as an instrument of international relations, but as a tool for propaganda, meddling in domestic affairs, and even regime change. In other words, diplomacy has been used for exactly the opposite ends than its real purpose, to stir trouble rather than solving problems”, the Speaker said.

“The states have many means for expressing their political preferences and dissatisfactions, but when diplomacy is used to deepen the disagreement, then we are depriving peace and cooperation of its chance to make the world a better place. When we see the accredited diplomats trying to take sides in the host country’s domestic affairs, deepen political polarisation, fan extremism for ideological goals, push the government to get involved in the war, and even facilitate regime change through the revolution, then what comes to mind is the foreign policy of the Soviet Union, a country that was born to foment the world revolution by any means, including diplomacy”, he continued.

Referring to Georgia’s Soviet past, Papuashvili compared today’s diplomatic overreach to the “Second Secretaries” of the Communist Party, who had a dominant say in Georgian domestic matters during the Soviet era.

“Therefore, when we witness the ambassadors of Georgia’s partner countries stepping over the line of their duty, we have to defend our country’s national interests. In Soviet times, Georgians had experience with the so-called Second Secretaries of the Communist Party, who were appointed exclusively from Moscow and had a decisive say in Georgia’s domestic affairs. Because of that painful experience, we recognise the Second Secretary when we see one. And then there is the legal aspect to it too: the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations emphasises both the rights AND duties of diplomats when it says that it is the duty of all persons [of diplomatic missions]… to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State. They also have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of that State”, the Speaker noted.

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Papuashvili accused some diplomats of going beyond their mandates by supporting specific politicians, funding political NGOs, and attempting to influence Georgian legislation.

“What we have seen in the last few years is exactly the opposite of this clause of the Convention, which is one of the main pillars of the rules-based international order. Expressing, let alone signalling, direct support to particular politicians, directly funding the activities of political parties, supporting the political NGOs financially, voicing opinions on host country’s legislation and claiming to be part of the legislative process is the non-exclusive list of activities that have become mundane for some foreign missions and diplomats in Georgia”, he said.

“There are no privileges without responsibilities. When foreign diplomats act as local politicians, they should be ready to take on the responsibilities for their actions that make them legitimate targets for criticism. Such criticism cannot be interpreted as an assault. Diplomats should not make themselves indistinguishable from the local politicians, by copying their political agendas and even message lines. Georgian people have accumulated enough political experience to identify foreign political bias and interference when we see one”, Papuashvili continued.

The Speaker concluded by calling for a return to the true role of diplomacy as a means of fostering peace, dialogue, and mutual understanding, warning that failure to do so risks eroding the very essence of international cooperation.

“Ambassadors should be envoys not mentors. Mixing personal attitudes with professional duties damages the very essence of diplomatic relations. As the Vienna Convention states, “all official business with the receiving State entrusted to the mission by the sending State shall be conducted with or through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the receiving State”. When diplomats, because of their doubtful actions, become unable to properly interact with the host nation’s official institutions but, instead, rely on propaganda, then they forsake their role as diplomats and attempt to remodel the host nations in their image. Bringing diplomacy back to its proper place would benefit enormously both Georgia as well as our foreign partners in this more than turbulent times in history”, Papuashvili concluded.