Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told the media during his visit to Yerevan that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) “operated by Soviet practices when more than 100 MPs backed unfair conditions for Georgia.”

In answer to a query from GPB First Channel, Kobakhidze stated that Georgia remains a member of the Council of Europe (CoE) and plans to maintain collaboration in various formats.

“In reality, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has been losing its relevance and function year after year. It has been doing this on its own. Yesterday’s decision is a continuation of this.

Today, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is far weaker than the European Parliament. Non-participation in its activity will not be a negative for us. However, as a member of the Council of Europe, we will continue to cooperate in other formats.

We are ready to work with the Council of Europe. We promised this to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe while he was in Georgia.

PACE members attempting to isolate our country will be unable to do so.

I believe that Soviet approaches have no place in Europe. I hope the European bureaucracy will recover soon. In any event, there is a resource for the European bureaucracy to recover under the conditions of change in the United States,” Irakli Kobakhidze observed.

The PACE on Wednesday approved a resolution on Georgia, granting limited credentials to the Georgian delegation till April. The resolution outlines several conditions that Georgian authorities must satisfy by April, among them “the release of political prisoners and the announcement of new elections.” If the criteria are not satisfied, Assembly members will have the opportunity to challenge the Georgian delegation’s credentials in April.

Following the resolution, Tea Tsulukiani, member of the parliamentary majority and Head of the Georgian delegation to the PACE, announced the Georgian Dream’s decision to quit the PACE.