Georgian foreign ministry summons Danish ambassador Over calling Ivanishvili "oligarch"

On January 11, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia summoned the Ambassador of Denmark, Anne Toft Sørensen, for referring to Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder and the recently inaugurated honorary chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, as an “oligarch” in her article dedicated to Georgia’s European integration, published on January 10 on the Danish daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

The official statement posted by the Foreign Ministry said the Ambassador was summoned due to incorrectly interpreted facts and political statements” made in the publication, Civil Georgia reports.

The MFA said these “evaluative statements lacking objectivity” are not conducive to creating a positive image of Georgia. The Ministry also highlighted that “certain forces used given publication for political interpretations, which, naturally, impeding the effective realization of the main objective set by the European Union – depolarization.”

“We now see extracts of the Danish article used out of context in the Georgian debate,” the Danish Embassy in Georgia explained in a statement, adding that “the embassy has no desire to contribute to this and has no further comments.“

Political statements

Kakhi Kaladze, Mayor of Tbilisi and General Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party called the ambassador’s remarks a “dirty slur.” At the same time, GD MP Irakli Zarkua said the Danish diplomat’s statement was “irresponsible” and “impertinent.” Zarkua said the Ambassador’s remark could only be aimed at deepening polarization in Georgia and advised her to apologize.

Tina Bokuchava, the leader of the opposition United National Movement parliamentary faction, said that political actors and people from diplomatic circles are increasingly saying that Ivanishvili is an oligarch and claimed he may be soon sanctioned.