“There is no such thing as friendly or hostile intelligence officers; everyone must stop intelligence activities and espionage,” Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said, commenting on French media reports that France had recalled two of its intelligence officers from Georgia. According to him, the Georgian authorities and security services now have every capability to detect intelligence activity within the country, so everyone should be cautious.
“So far, there is only an article [in the media]. I do not know how reliable its content is, but if we are to believe what is written, it concerns two intelligence officers recalled by France itself. If this is true, what do you think: does the presence of foreign intelligence agents in a country improve relations between states, and does their departure worsen them? I do not know. I do not quite understand what exactly is meant.
However, it must be emphasized that today the Georgian authorities and its security services have all the capabilities to detect intelligence activities in the country. Therefore, everyone must understand: there is no West, East, North, or South here. There is Georgia, and everyone else who is not part of this country. Foreign intelligence has no business in Georgia.
There is no such thing as friendly or hostile intelligence officers. Everyone must stop engaging in intelligence and espionage,” Papuashvili stated.
As a reminder, earlier the Georgian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, citing the French publication Intelligence Online, which covers intelligence and diplomacy issues, reported that France had recalled two of its intelligence officers from Georgia.
According to the publication, the agents were recalled in May amid the detention of a “former associate” of the leader of Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili. As Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty notes, this refers to Giorgi Udzilauri, a former press secretary of Cartu Bank and a former high-ranking financial police officer, who was detained on May 5 on espionage charges.