Georgian Parliament Speaker: true friendship means respecting Georgia’s sovereignty, constitutional order

Friendship with the Georgian people is not measured in words, but proven through responsibility and respect for the Georgian people’s sovereignty and constitutional order, said on Wednesday the Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili.

In a social media message, Papuashvili noted that the statement by the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs - “Sweden remains a friend of the Georgian people” - came from the same foreign office whose representative had publicly called on Georgian radicals to organise a “Maidan” in Georgia.

The Speaker recalled that, just days after that call, violent individuals armed with Molotov cocktails and pyrotechnics attempted to set fire to the Georgian Parliament building, attacked dozens of police officers, and inflicted serious injuries, as a result of which one police officer lost his eyesight.

“Against this backdrop, instead of spreading yet another piece of disinformation about Georgia, it would have been far more appropriate for the Swedish authorities to first explain the ‘call for a Maidan’ and at least express regret over their representative’s irresponsible and malicious conduct”, he said.

“Friendship with the Georgian people is not measured in words. Friendship is proven by responsibility and respect for the Georgian people’s sovereignty and constitutional order. Encouraging violent scenarios and later justifying them is one thing; friendship is another. There is a wide gap between the two”, Papuashvili concluded.