Georgian Parliament official slams EPP letter as “lies forged by Saakashvili’s friends” to tarnish country’s image

David Matikashvili, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party and Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on Procedural Issues and Rules, on Friday criticised the European People’s Party, claiming that the group was spreading false narratives internationally to damage Georgia’s reputation and protect imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Matikashvili argued that the European People’s Party and its members were aligned with Saakashvili and his party, and therefore acted against the interests of the Georgian people and state.

“The European People’s Party (EPP) and its members represent the friends of Mikheil Saakashvili and his party, and therefore they can by no means be friends of the Georgian people and the Georgian state”, he said.

The official emphasised that repeated international inspections had not found evidence supporting claims that Georgia was facilitating sanctions evasion. Instead, he said, foreign experts have expressed gratitude toward Georgia for maintaining compliance.

“As before and again today, the campaign suggesting that Georgia in some way has been a black hole or a mechanism for circumventing sanctions has not been confirmed. On the contrary, during all inspections, the Georgian side received only words of gratitude from those individuals or experts who visited Georgia”, he noted.

Matikashvili accused Saakashvili’s allies of fabricating talking points to circulate among European audiences with the goal of damaging Georgia’s global reputation.

“Despite this, Mikheil Saakashvili’s friends are trying to forge some kind of talking point out of lies for the world and for Europe, and to damage the image of our country. If we look at the situation realistically, Georgia is fulfilling all conditions to ensure that our country does not become a mechanism for evading sanctions”, Matikashvili concluded.