The democratic backsliding in Georgia is deeply worrying and must be addressed clearly, - said Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

According to him, shrinking civic space, pressure on opposition parties, detentions, restrictive legislation and lack of accountability for reported police brutality are fully unacceptable.

“First, I want to be clear on the fact that I take the assembly’s work on Georgia very seriously, including previous resolutions, including the report being discussed this week, and we see and we face the same reality.

The democratic backsliding in Georgia is deeply worrying and must be addressed clearly. Shrinking civic space, pressure on opposition parties, detentions, restrictive legislation and lack of accountability for reported police brutality are fully unacceptable.

I want also to inform you that I met Georgian civil society representatives and their concerns confirm the seriousness of the situation.

The question is not a question of good conscience, you know. It would be easy for me to use some tools, not looking at the possible impact, and we need to make this balance - the goal must be to have a movement, not just to say we did the right thing.

We are still assessing this. What we can also see at the moment is Georgia's absence [from the meeting] has not improved the situation. The question is how can we address this to have the maximal possible impact, and as we know isolation is not a solution. So, let me conclude on this. I remain engaged at all levels, and please note that dialogue for me cannot be an end in itself. The question is when, how, with which impact, and not only when and how, the impact is also an important element of the discussion. It must lead to tangible progress, that's the only way to make some progress, that must be the goal, and I made this very clear, I think, to Prime Minister Kobakhidze in Yerevan on 4^th of May, and I have also asked my secretariat to work on concrete ways following the situation that that you mentioned”, he said.