“The EU Ambassador openly threatening the Georgian people with civil war and a return to poverty is, of course, deeply troubling,” Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists.

As Kobakhidze noted, Herczyński’s remarks were grave in the extreme.

“Mr Herczyński had also threatened the Georgian people ahead of the parliamentary elections, when he called on voters to go to the polls and return the collective United National Movement to power. That was, in effect, the substance of Mr Herczyński’s appeal at the time.

Naturally, returning the collective National Movement to power would mean a return to the dark past we have already lived through, and that is not something the Georgian people want. It was precisely for this reason that, during the 2024 parliamentary elections, the Georgian people paid no heed whatsoever to Herczyński’s appeal. They acted in their own interests, not at the behest of an EU Ambassador urging them to hand their country back, with their own hands, into the dark past of the collective National Movement.

There was nothing new in what he said. It is what we have come to expect from the EU Ambassador; he made essentially the same statement again. It was nothing new, and yet a response was still deemed necessary, which is precisely why a diplomatic step was taken: the Ambassador was summoned, and the Foreign Minister heard his explanations in person. That is the diplomatic measure that needed to be taken in this matter,” said Irakli Kobakhidze.

For context: several days ago, Georgian media circulated remarks made by EU Ambassador to Georgia Pawel Herczyński at an event held in Brussels at the European External Action Service, in which he stated: “Georgia stands at a crossroads. Georgia’s future has not yet been written, but what is decided in the coming weeks and months will determine whether Georgia belongs to the family of European nations founded on democracy, the rule of law and human rights — or whether, regrettably, it returns to its dark past.” Herczyński also said: “We must not allow Georgia and its wonderful, warm, hospitable people to return to that dark era of violence, civil war, poverty, hardship and corruption.”

On April 23, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated that it was appropriate to summon the Ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili indicated on April 24 that the diplomatic service would employ available channels of response.

On April 27, Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili met with EU Ambassador Pawel Herczyński at the Avlabari Residence.

Following the meeting, the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement in which Botchorishvili underscored that Brussels’ current policy was undermining trust and damaging the Georgia–EU partnership.

The European Union Delegation to Georgia also issued an official statement regarding the meeting with the Georgian Foreign Minister.