Georgian PM: European ambassadors must cease acting as “ambassadors of hatred”

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday criticised European ambassadors and EU institutions, accusing them of fuelling radicalism and hatred in the country and harming the European Union’s image amongst the Georgian public.

In his remarks, Kobakhidze noted that European ambassadors must act in good faith and in line with the Vienna Convention, warning that their current approach was eroding trust in the EU and associating European diplomacy with radicalism and violence.

“I do not know why European ambassadors and the European bureaucracy are doing this. They are directly exposing what many had been talking about for years. In reality, today, in the eyes of the Georgian people, the European bureaucracy is associated with radicalism, violence, disregard for democracy - all of these negative developments we are seeing from the side of the European bureaucracy”, Kobakhidze said.

The Prime Minister claimed that their actions were seen as disregarding democracy and promoting radicalism, which he called unacceptable.

“This directly has a negative impact not only on the image of the European bureaucracy but also on the reputation of the European Union in the eyes of our society. This process must be stopped. For this, it is important that ambassadors act, first of all, in good faith, in accordance with the Vienna Convention, and do not blatantly fuel radicalism and hatred in the eyes of the public in our country”, he noted.

Kobakhidze stressed that this process must be stopped and called for diplomatic actors to adhere to international norms, emphasising that such rhetoric and activity damage Georgia-EU relations.

“European ambassadors must not present themselves to Georgian society as ambassadors of hatred. Today this is the reality. A large part of ambassadors present themselves to Georgian society as ambassadors of hatred. This is a very unfortunate reality. It negatively affects the image of the European Union in Georgia. This process must be stopped”, he concluded.