Georgian political analyst Gia Abashidze has said that European Union institutions revealed their “true face” following the death of the country’s spiritual leader, Ilia II.

Abashidze noted that the absence of official condolences from Brussels highlights what he described as a lack of solidarity with the Georgian people, The Caspian Post reports via Russian media.

He argued that the EU “does not stand with the people of Georgia, but instead patronizes criminals and extremists”.

“Good that the current cohort of Euro-bureaucrats has itself dropped the false mask of ‘solidarity’ with our people,” Abashidze said.

Ilia II passed away on March 17 at the age of 93 and was laid to rest in Tbilisi at Sioni Cathedral, where several previous patriarchs of the Georgian Orthodox Church are buried.

Elected as Catholicos-Patriarch in 1977, Ilia II played a pivotal role in the revival of religious life across Georgia, overseeing the restoration of churches and monasteries, strengthening the Church’s independence, and expanding its educational institutions.