Parliament Speaker Papuashvili: Rasa Juknevičienė was allowed to prepare ground for attack on Georgian Church; Response crucial, so that no one from any EU institution dares to attack

“Nothing good will come out of Rasa Juknevičienė’s hands regarding Georgia. However, it is also noteworthy that she was allowed to prepare the ground for an attack on the Georgian Church,” Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili told Georgian reporters in Serbia.

Shalva Papuashvili urges a strict response so that no one from any EU institution dares to attack the Georgian church.

“I have said that this is not the first instance when the EU institution attacked the Georgian church, which is unacceptable. We should draw a red line so that no one from any EU institution dares to attack the Georgian church and its parishioners. Nothing good will come out of Rasa Juknevičienė’s hands regarding Georgia. However, it is also noteworthy that she was allowed to prepare the ground for an attack on the Georgian Church. Therefore, a strict and direct response is crucial for such a fact not to become a precedent,” he said.

On June 17, the European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Rasa Juknevičienė, which says that the Georgian Orthodox Church “continues to be an influential institution in Georgian society. We express concern over Russia’s use of religious networks as channels for spreading disinformation and influence.”

Head of the Public Relations Service of the Georgian Patriarchate, Andria Jaghmaidze, said in an interview with Imedi Week on July 5: “In 2023, the Belgian Foreign Minister asked us to help promote same-sex marriage, believing that Georgian society was lagging behind the trends.

In the same interview, Jaghmaidze said that he had asked Michael Rith during the 2019 conference whether Georgia was required to hold Prides, to which he responded that “this was a fundamental value.” Jaghmaidze also recalled a meeting held in Brussels in 2019, noting: “They said, ‘Years ago, we too were homophobic, and you, too, will get used to this LGBT agenda.’ These are the words of Rasa Juknevičienė,” Andria Jaghmaidze stated.