MP Samkharadze: Iranian ambassador should stay within diplomatic protocol and avoid historical digressions

Chairman of the Georgian Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee Nikoloz Samkharadze has called on Iran’s ambassador to Georgia to remain within diplomatic protocol and refrain from historical digressions.

Speaking to the GPB First Channel, Samkharadze said this was not the first time Iran’s ambassador had made ambiguous statements, including regarding historical facts.

According to the MP, the issue will be discussed with Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili after she returns to Georgia.

“I want to remind him that, historically, Georgia and Persia did not have good relations, and there is a difficult history that is a sensitive issue for every Georgian. I would advise him to stay within the framework of diplomatic protocol and refrain from historical digressions, because this is not his responsibility. If he wants normal relations between the two countries to be maintained, then he should refrain from such outbursts,” Samkharadze said.

Samkharadze commnted on a Facebook post by Iran’s ambassador to Georgia, Ali Mojan, in which the ambassador wrote that he would soon share the results of his preliminary research concerning Queen Ketevan, as well as documents and historical sources preserved in Iran and Georgia. The ambassador said the material would be neither an official version nor a claim to have the final word on Queen Ketevan’s history, but rather a historian’s personal perspective and assessment at the current stage of his research. He added that the assessment should naturally be expanded, analyzed, critically reviewed or corrected in the future based on additional sources and joint research by Georgian and Iranian scholars. The ambassador also suggested that rethinking such histories could serve as an opportunity for the two countries to better and more deeply understand one another today, rather than simply returning to the past.