Davit Zalkaliani: Russia's reaction is a response to our actions and harsh assessments of our international partners
Davit Zalkaliani: Russia's reaction is a response to our actions and harsh assessments of our international partners

Such a harsh reaction from Russia is, first of all, a response to our actions, to the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which we immediately made on the unacceptability of the illegal detention, wounding and transferring of Zaza Gakheladze to Tskhinvali, – Georgian Foreign Minister Davit Zalkaliani told the First Channel of Georgian Public Broadcaster when responding to the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

As the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia explains, the sharp statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia after the arrest of Zaza Gakheladze was followed by the same sharp reaction from the international partners.

According to Zalkaliani, this action was harshly assessed both in the United States of America and in Europe, including during his last visit to Brussels.

The Minister explains that the Gakheladze’s abduction was one of the main topics of all the meetings held in Brussels, including in the NATO-Georgia Commission and the European Commission and the European Parliament. And today, official Tbilisi is already expecting sharp assessments in the format of the OSCE Permanent Council.
As Minister noted, this international mobilization irritated Russian.

“On our initiative, this issue is being discussed in the format of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, where we also expect very harsh statements from the EU and other partner countries. All this puts Russia in an unfavourable position, and that’s why we see their irritation, aggressive tone, and also an attempt to shift the focus in a different direction. They are trying to distance themselves in a peculiar way, which they constantly do in the Geneva format, claiming that Russia is not a party. This is categorically unacceptable for us, ” – Zalkaliani said.