MP Nikoloz Samkharadze: Georgia does not return to PACE until its delegation’s credentials are fully and unconditionally recognised

“The draft Council of Europe resolution states that the Parliamentary Assembly reaffirms its January 2025 resolution, and that very resolution from January is the reason we suspended our activities in the Assembly,” MP Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, has stated.

Samkharadze claims the authors of the Council of Europe resolution are rejecting cooperation and dialogue with the Georgian government.

“The initial draft of the resolution that we have seen is virtually identical to previous versions. It completely fails to reflect the developments that have taken place in Georgia over the last 12 months. It is therefore evident that the authors of this resolution, along with those intending to vote for it, have no appetite for cooperation or dialogue with the Georgian government. It has also become glaringly obvious that their recent visit here yielded nothing. It was simply a box-ticking exercise so they could note in their report that they had been to Georgia.

This resolution entirely undermines the statements often made to us at various parliamentary forums claiming they want the Georgian delegation to return to its work in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The draft text states that PACE reaffirms the January 2025 resolution, which is the precise reason we suspended our work in the Assembly. Consequently, their demand for Georgia to return to PACE is completely meaningless and unjustified. A year and a half has passed since January 2025, yet they are still reaffirming the text of that previous resolution.

Therefore, we will make our decision based solely on our own and the country’s interests. Naturally, that decision will be that we will not return to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe until the credentials of our delegation are fully and unconditionally recognised,” Samkharadze stated.

For context, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is scheduled to debate and vote on the report prepared on Georgia today, June 24. The co-rapporteurs for the report are Edite Estrela and Sabina Ćudić.