German ambassador’s ties to Georgian protesters raise political questions

Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, has called for clarifications from the German ambassador following his meeting with activists and individuals described by authorities as representatives of “extremist groups.”

As Caliber.Az reports, citing Georgian media, Ambassador Peter Fischer met on January 15 with several activists involved in recent protests,

During the meeting, Fischer allegedly suggested that “today’s protests will not bring results in the future, and therefore it is necessary for events in Georgia to unfold along the same scenario as the protests in Iran, which led to human casualties and escalated into mass radical protests.”

The activists confirmed the meeting with the German ambassador but maintained that the discussion focused on “Georgia’s European integration,” rather than any political strategy.

Responding to reports of the meeting, Parliament First Deputy Speaker Gia Volski said:

"We are awaiting clarifications from the German ambassador regarding what this meeting with politically involved individuals, including representatives of extremist groups, actually means. In this regard, there are rather serious suspicions that, yes, such a conversation did take place with the German ambassador; it would not be something new and would not surprise us from a person who is directly involved in free processes, financially, politically, or through his statements."

By Vafa Guliyeva