Tbilisi rejects presence of any foreign intelligence networks

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has reiterated that intelligence operations conducted by any foreign state are unacceptable on Georgian territory, stressing that the country’s security services are fully capable of detecting such activities.

As Caliber.Az reports per Georgian media, Papuashvili made the comments in response to a report by the French publication Intelligence Online, which alleged that French Directorate General for External Security (DGSE) became involved in a spying controversy after Georgian authorities uncovered an attempt to recruit an individual close to former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Media reports further claimed that, following the incident, French intelligence services withdrew three officers from Tbilisi.

“If this is true, do you think the presence of foreign intelligence agents in a country contributes to warmer relations between states, and their departure leads to cooler relations?” Papuashvili said. “I do not know exactly what is meant by these reports, but I want to emphasize that today the Georgian government and security services have every capability to detect intelligence activity in the country.”

The parliament speaker stressed that Georgia applies the same standard to all foreign intelligence services, regardless of their country of origin.

“There is neither West nor East, neither North nor South. Intelligence services of any country have no business operating in Georgia,” Papuashvili said.

By Vafa Guliyeva