Georgian Parliament official criticises German Ambassador's conduct as breaking diplomatic norms

Archil Gorduladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, on Sunday criticised Peter Fischer, the German Ambassador to the country, saying that no other ambassador in the past 11 years had dared to do what Fischer did.

“For the statement alone - made even before entering the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - the German Ambassador should have been summoned. He openly declared that he would continue to criticise the Georgian Dream government. Who gives an ambassador the right to criticise the government? According to the Vienna Convention, his involvement in internal affairs is strictly prohibited”, Gorduladze said.

Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday summoned Fischer, reminding him of the Vienna Convention’s provisions on non-interference and expressing concern over attempts to encourage a radical agenda in Georgia.

The Ministry noted that during the meeting, Fischer was reminded that under Article 41, Paragraph 1 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, members of a diplomatic mission must respect the laws of the host country and refrain from interfering in its internal affairs.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday said that the summoning of the German Ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs represents a diplomatic step taken when an ambassador operating in Georgia “grossly violates the principles of the Vienna Convention”.