The German Ambassador to Georgia, Peter Fischer, stated that Tbilisi is moving in the opposite direction to European integration, thereby distancing itself from the European Union. According to him, concern and disappointment are growing within the German government over the course taken by the Georgian authorities.
“Georgia has separated itself from Ukraine and Moldova on the common path to the European Union. We want these three states to advance together as quickly as possible, but this is not happening now,” Fischer said on TV Pirveli.
The diplomat also criticized a statement by Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, who had previously published a “letter of condolence” to the German people amid the potential termination of partnership relations between Tbilisi and the city of Saarbrücken:
“This is not how you join the European Union, definitely not. You can take this as advice from me—an ambassador of a European Union member state.”
Fischer also criticized the Georgian authorities’ rhetoric regarding the “Deep State” and “informal oligarchs,” calling such statements further evidence of Tbilisi’s anti-European course.
The ambassador recalled that after more than half a century of partnership, the authorities of Saarbrücken are considering the complete termination of official contacts with Tbilisi. A corresponding resolution is planned to be submitted to the city council. According to the German newspaper Saarbrücker Zeitung, the move was prompted by political developments in Georgia.
In response, Kaladze published an address to the German people, claiming that due to decisions by the “German bureaucracy, which is subservient to the Deep State,” even the long-standing friendship between the cities had become a subject of political speculation. According to him, Germany is “practically bogged down in a swamp” and faces serious domestic problems, yet German politicians continue to criticize the situation in Georgia and take “decisive measures.”
