According to Elene Khoshtaria, leader of the Droa party, the problem is not “the existence of arrogant Russians,” but rather our state’s attitude toward itself, its dignity, its laws and its citizens.

Khoshtaria was responding to the incident at a hotel in Telavi involving Russian citizens.

According to Khoshtaria, an aggressive and provocatively minded Russian citizen is more likely to expect support from the police than a peaceful Georgian citizen.

“It was the Telavi police who attacked activists over Lavrov’s son’s wedding. I even had to physically protect protesters from the police chief.

Our problem is not the existence of arrogant Russians—they will always be here—but our state’s attitude toward itself, its own dignity, its own laws and its own citizens. The problem is that an aggressive and provocative Russian always has greater confidence in our police than a peaceful, law-abiding citizen of Georgia. This is precisely what needs to change,” Khoshtaria’s statement reads, as published on the politician’s Facebook page.