On 26 February, the Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs David Zalkaliani stated at a special briefing of the Council of Europe (CoE) that the scheduled spring ministerial of the organization would be held in Strasbourg instead of Tbilisi due to the participation of the Russian delegation.
He stated that in case of holding the ministerial in Tbilisi, Georgia would have the responsibility to ensure the participation of all countries in the event. “You know what our legislation is related to. Among them, I mean the participation of the Russian Federation. We were obliged to ensure the participation of all members in this event. So, we were holding constant consultations to discuss all possible scenarios. Of course, we used all the resources. Yesterday, in Geneva, when I met with the Secretary General, we talked about this issue and they absolutely understand that this ministerial should be held in Strasbourg. I would also like to tell you that there is a similar precedent when [past] President[s] countries’ held the ministerial in Strasbourg,” he said.
He added that Georgia faces serious challenges and [that] tension in the country is “absolutely unacceptable.” “I want to say that we, as the CoE chair country, have acted in line with the regulations of the organisation, our laws and state interests as no one should have been given an opportunity to spark tension, escalation in the country with the use of the event for various political interests. However, I, as the head of the CoE Committee of Ministers, am very disappointed we missed the opportunity to host the ministerial,“ he said.
On 29 January, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili stated that her country would be ready to host the Russian delegation at the CoE ministerial, as it is considered as Georgia’s international obligation to do so (Caucasus Watch reported). On 13 February, the former Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Grigori Karasin confirmed Russia’s participation at the Tbilisi ministerial. The Georgian opposition strongly opposed Russia’s participation at the ministerial, warning that it might spark a new wave of rallies in the country, similar from those from June 2019 (Caucasus Watch reported).
