We must state clearly that if these reports are true and the Georgian Dream regime is using chemical weapons against its own population, then they have renounced all ambitions to join the European family, European Parliament member Tobias Cremer said in a speech at the European Parliament.

“Imagine a substance that robs you of the ability to breathe, burns your skin, causes coughing and vomiting - not for a few minutes or hours, but for days and weeks. These are the effects of ‘chlorine gas,’ a chemical weapon from the time of the First World War. Today, we are reading independent reports suggesting that it may have been used again in Europe. According to these reports, the Georgian authorities mixed it into a water cannon and used it not against an invading army, but against their own citizens. And why? Because for over a year, the Georgian people have dared to hold peaceful protests for a democratic regime, the rule of law, and, most importantly, a European future,” Cremer said.

He emphasized that the European Union itself should not give up on Georgia.

“Let us call for an independent international investigation into the use of such chemical weapons by the Georgian Dream government. Let us finally impose real and targeted sanctions - not just on a few holders of diplomatic passports, but on the de facto ruler Ivanishvili himself and all his accomplices involved in such heinous crimes. The Georgians are showing real courage every day, and let us do the same,” the MEP noted.