During the days when Georgia was in mourning, we saw a session of the Helsinki Commission take place. Not a single word was heard from Mr. Wilson or other members of the Commission, who, if you ask them, present themselves as supporters of the Georgian people and as individuals who think about Georgia day and night. Perhaps they were not even aware of what happened in Georgia, or perhaps they knew but failed to understand it,” said the Speaker of Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, in response to a question regarding the lack of condolences from Western leaders following the death of Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II.

According to Papuashvili, “this is ordinary paid lobbying and has nothing to do with any genuine emotional connection to Georgia or the Georgian people.”

At the same time, the Speaker expressed gratitude to those European ambassadors who came to the Holy Trinity Cathedral or attended the funeral to express their condolences.

“Moreover, we witnessed, for example, a session of the Helsinki Commission during the days when Georgia was mourning. Not a single word was heard from Mr. Wilson or other members, who claim to care deeply about the Georgian people and say they spend their days and nights thinking about Georgia. This once again shows that what we see from some foreign politicians is a farce. It is ordinary paid lobbying that has nothing to do with any real emotional attachment to Georgia or its people.

Perhaps they were not even aware of what happened in Georgia, or perhaps they knew but failed to grasp its significance. We also saw various reports presented in Europe during this time, which again included attacks on the Georgian people in a moment of grief. This is what we mean when we say that European civilization is being driven toward a civilizational abyss - when political agendas are placed above human values.

I would like to thank those ambassadors who were present at the Trinity Cathedral, both during the days of mourning and on the day of the funeral, and who expressed their sorrow over this loss. On the other hand, we did not see any of those European leaders who usually rush to comment on every development in Georgia. In such a moment of grief, they could not find the words, the time, or rather the emotion. They do not understand our emotion - our connection to our Church, to the Patriarch, and to the true values on which Georgia stands, rather than the pseudo-values these political leaders stand for. This was also a major lesson for the Georgian people,” Papuashvili stated.

Papuashvili also noted that during the days of mourning, “the Georgian people tried to return to our Patriarch the love that he had given us throughout his half-century of patriarchal service.”

“We all witnessed this when more than one and a half million of our fellow citizens physically came to the Trinity Cathedral to express their grief. It was truly a moment when the entire nation was united in sorrow. Each of us tried, in our own small way, to show the love we felt in return for the love we received from the Patriarch.

We also witnessed unity within the Church and among different religions. Representatives of various religious communities in our country, as well as people from different backgrounds who knew Georgia, its Church, and its Patriarch, expressed their condolences. Regardless of confession or religion, everyone recognized him as a truly historic figure - not only for Georgia but for the world and the Christian community. During these days, including in meetings with various delegations, we heard how highly they valued his contribution and how much they respected his role in the development of the Christian world,” Shalva Papuashvili said.