Georgia's Parliament Speaker Accuses Foreign Actors of Disrespecting Sovereignty

Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, expressed concerns on Thursday regarding the level of respect foreign partners have for Georgia’s sovereignty, particularly following controversies surrounding the country’s October 26 general elections.

In a press briefing, the official highlighted “true sovereignty is rooted in honouring the will and choices of the Georgian people”, suggesting that “certain political forces and foreign actors” had failed to uphold the principle following the elections, The Caspian Post reports, citing Georgian media.

“There are political forces and groups outside the country that disrespect the sovereignty of the Georgian people. In this regard, they are treading the path once taken by the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union,” Papuashvili claimed.

The speaker also condemned Carl Bildt, the Co-Chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations and former Swedish Prime Minister, describing him as a “lobbyist” allegedly motivated by financial incentives.

The allegation came Bildt, in his social media post on Thursday, hailed ongoing protests against the Georgian Government's decision last month not to include European Union accession talks in its agenda until 2028 and questioned the legitimacy of Mikheil Kavelashvili, the country’s President-elect, whose inauguration is scheduled his week.

Papuashvili further questioned the role of several European politicians in “influencing Georgia's internal affairs”, and called out Lithuanian and Estonian foreign ministers for participation in rallies in Tbilisi earlier this year against the law on transparency of foreign influence.

Papuashvili labelled their actions as “interference in Georgia's political decisions”.

The official concluded by framing the recent elections as a “test for European values”, urging foreign leaders to “demonstrate their commitment to sovereignty and democracy”.