“This morning, the Minister was at the occupation line in Odzisi. With this step, she aimed to demonstrate respect for sovereignty. However, what value does a statement supporting sovereignty in Odzisi have when you yourself violate sovereignty on Rustaveli Avenue?” stated Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili during a Bureau session, responding to the visit of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, to the occupation line and her attendance at a rally on Rustaveli Avenue.
Papuashvili noted that international institutions are being instrumentalized and used as weapons against Georgian democracy.
“I want to address the actions of Finland’s Foreign Minister, who is also the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, regarding her behavior yesterday when she participated in an illegal rally, blocking the road, which everyone saw, including in live broadcasts and photographs. We also heard attempts to establish false narratives in her statements. Today, we all saw the Prime Minister’s statement and the government’s position that the planned meeting with her was canceled. This is exactly what we mean when we talk about the instrumentalization of international institutions and their use as weapons against Georgian democracy. Finland’s Foreign Minister was in Georgia precisely within the framework of the OSCE Chairpersonship, and this visit was used by her, first, to support radical groups. We are accustomed to this, but second, Georgia’s legislation was directly and grossly violated, thereby breaching Article 41 of the Vienna Convention. This morning, the Minister was at the occupation line in Odzisi, and as in her statements yesterday, today, with this step, she wanted to show respect for sovereignty. But what value does a statement supporting sovereignty in Odzisi have when you violate sovereignty on Rustaveli Avenue? It is important for our society to clearly see and analyze such behavior, which, above all, harms the OSCE as an organization. Although the Chairpersonship rotates, this is exactly why it appears that she is using this instrument to push a political agenda.
We see unfortunate trends that once again demonstrate that when it comes to a rules-based international order, for some, these are empty words used merely as an excuse to lecture others. However, they themselves do not realize or respect what a rules-based international order means—first and foremost, respect for the Vienna Convention, which was so blatantly violated yesterday by Finland’s Foreign Minister and her ambassador, who was with her on Rustaveli Avenue,” Papuashvili stated.
As a reminder, yesterday, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, attended a rally near the Parliament and spoke with the protest participants. According to the rally participants, they discussed the content and plans of their protest with the OSCE Chairperson.
Shalva Papuashvili on Elina Valtonen’s visit to the occupation line: what value does a statement supporting sovereignty in Odzisi have when you violate sovereignty on Rustaveli Avenue?
