Irakli Kirtskhalia on ALDE letter: We have little interest in their inept and completely baseless sanction packages, no sanction package can divert us from the course we are pursuing in accordance with the public mandate
"We have little interest in their inept and completely baseless sanction packages—even if they come year after year or month after month. They know this very well. No sanction package can divert us from the course we are pursuing in accordance with the public mandate. This was the response from Irakli Kirtskhalia, a leader of the parliamentary majority, regarding the call from ALDE (the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) for the EU to impose targeted sanctions on individuals responsible for repression and undermining democracy in Georgia.
According to Kirtskhalia, the mandate of the Georgian public remains unchanged and entails the country's peaceful development, progress, and reunification through peaceful means.
"We should not be surprised by such statements from ALDE and the EU political elite. They seem to forget that, for years, our country has been subjected to direct, unjust attacks from them. We - and the government team, the legislative and executive branches - care little about these inept and completely baseless sanction packages they churn out month after month or year after year. They are well aware of this. No sanction package can divert us from the course we are pursuing in accordance with our society's mandate - a mandate that remains in effect today and calls for our country's peaceful development, progress, and the well-being of every citizen, and, above all, the peaceful reunification of our country," stated Kirtskhalia.
For context, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE Party) calls on the EU to impose targeted sanctions on individuals responsible for repression and undermining democracy in Georgia. ALDE President Svenja Hahn and European Liberal Forum President Jan-Christoph Oetjen addresses a letter to Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Marta Kos, European Commissioner for Enlargement.
“We are writing regarding the rapidly deteriorating democratic situation in Georgia, and particularly the forced decision of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) to close its office in Tbilisi after more than two decades of work in the country.
FNF has been forced to end its operations in Georgia following the rejection of its grant application by the Georgian authorities. The authorities made clear that FNF’s activities would only be permitted if they were aligned with their priorities. Under these conditions, FNF concluded that it could no longer carry out its mission as an independent political foundation," reads the letter.
