- On 19 November, the Georgian Foreign Ministry released a statement due to the postponement of the EU dialogue with Georgia on the protection of human rights. The Georgian Foreign Ministry notes that despite the suspension of the EU dialogue with Georgia at all levels, according to the conclusions of the EU Council of 27 June 2024, Tbilisi saw the upcoming meeting on human rights as an opportunity to interact with Brussels and discuss issues on which criticism of Georgia is often voiced.
“Unfortunately, despite the Georgian side’s desire to hold a meeting on human rights protection issues in the format of the Georgia-EU dialogue, the European side postponed the said meeting under quite unacceptable and unfounded pretext. The use of this topic for another speculation raises reasonable doubts and creates an impression that the European External Action Service was not sincerely interested in holding the meeting and that Brussels is not ready to listen to the reasoned position of the Georgian side, including on those issues that were used to suspend the political dialogue with Georgia,” reads the statement issued on November 19.
According to the Georgian service of Radio Liberty, the reason for postponing the meeting was the inclusion in the delegation of a Georgian official who is under sanctions. Presumably, it is about the deputy interior minister. European diplomats said that” the Georgian side insisted on the participation of sanctioned persons”, which the EU considers unacceptable. Brussels emphasised that the meeting was postponed “due to obstacles created by the Georgian side”.
The interior minister has five deputies – Shalva Tadumadze, Alexander Darakhvelidze, Mariam Tabatadze, Roland Meskhi and Giorgi Sakhokia. Two of them – Shalva Tadumadze and Alexander Darakhvelidze – are under sanctions of different countries.
Another deputy minister under sanctions of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Giorgi Butkhuzi, was dismissed from his post on 11 November, and Giorgi Sakhokia was appointed in his place.
The EU has so far not imposed sanctions against Georgian officials. Restrictions imposed by individual countries on representatives of the Georgian Dream continue to apply.