A member of the ruling party Georgian Dream, Levan Machavariani, responded to a statement by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova regarding Georgia.

According to Machavariani, Georgian law enforcement agencies have their own agenda and act independently.

“It is not only Madam Zakharova. There are many people in the Russian government who make such statements, even harsher ones, including toward the United States and leading EU countries, and of course this is nothing surprising.

As for any kind of instructions for Georgia, we are absolutely not interested in them. Our law enforcement agencies have their own agenda and they follow it,” Machavariani said.

For context, Zakharova stated that she expects Georgian law enforcement to draw conclusions and appropriately assess an attempted disruption of a Russian Language Day event in Tbilisi. She referred to those involved as an “extremist group, radicals, and hooligans,” and suggested they should be identified and punished.