“The PACE resolution is based on absurdly false information. There is no point in engaging with an organization that is unwilling to base its conclusions on objective information,” Georgian Dream MP Tengiz Sharmanashvili said in response to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s resolution on Georgia.

According to Sharmanashvili, the resolution contains nothing new, as this is not the first time the Assembly has taken such an approach.

“This resolution is based on absurdly false information. There is nothing new in the PACE resolution because this is not the first time they have done this. That is why we have not been participating in these events for quite some time. This is very unfortunate, but the fact is that there is no point in maintaining relations with an organization that is unwilling to base its conclusions on objective information,” Tengiz Sharmanashvili said.

For reference, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution on Georgia. It was supported by 83 members, with 5 voting against and 4 abstaining.

The draft resolution states that democratic backsliding in Georgia continues unabated, as does pressure on civil society, the political opposition, and dissenting voices. According to the document, none of the Assembly’s urgent recommendations have been implemented. It also states that “the initiative to effectively ban virtually all democratic opposition parties in Georgia and to initiate criminal proceedings against their leaders on politically motivated and fabricated charges is unacceptable.”

The draft resolution further stresses that “restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, including through repressive legislation and the politically motivated misuse of legal proceedings against civil society, independent media, opposition forces, and individual protesters, must end immediately.”