Speaker: Elina Valtonen’s support for sovereignty in Odzisi has no value when she herself violates sovereignty on Rustaveli Avenue

“Finland’s Foreign Minister, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, participated in an unlawful demonstration and road blockade. This represents the instrumentalisation of international institutions and their weaponisation against Georgian democracy,” declared Shalva Papuashvili, Speaker of Georgia’s Parliament, at a meeting of the Parliament’s Bureau.

According to Papuashvili, the Finnish Foreign Minister’s visit to Georgia within the framework of the OSCE Chairpersonship was exploited to support radical groups.

“I wish to respond to yesterday’s actions by Finland’s Foreign Minister, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, when she participated in an unlawful demonstration and road blockade. Everyone saw this, both in live broadcasts and photographs. We also heard attempts in her statements to establish false narratives. We all saw the Prime Minister’s statement; it is the Government’s position that the planned meeting with her was cancelled. This is precisely what we mean when we speak of the instrumentalisation of international institutions, including their weaponisation against Georgian democracy. Finland’s Foreign Minister came to Georgia on a visit within the framework of the OSCE Chairpersonship. She used this visit to support radical groups and directly and crudely violated Georgian legislation. In doing so, she violated Article 41 of the Vienna Convention,” Papuashvili declared.

Additionally, Papuashvili responded to the Finnish Foreign Minister’s visit to the occupation line at Odzisi.

“This morning, the Minister was in Odzisi, at the occupation line. As with yesterday’s statements, this step today was meant to demonstrate respect for sovereignty, but what value does a declaration of support for sovereignty in Odzisi have when you yourself violate sovereignty on Rustaveli Avenue?

It is crucial that our society carefully observes and analyses such behaviour, as it ultimately harms the OSCE as an organisation. We are witnessing regrettable trends which demonstrate that when some speak of a rules-based international order, these appear to be empty words that can merely be used as a pretext for conversations with others. They themselves neither comprehend nor embrace what respect for a rules-based international order means; above all, they do not respect the Vienna Convention, which was so crudely violated yesterday by Finland’s Foreign Minister and her Ambassador, who was with her on Rustaveli Avenue,” Shalva Papuashvili declared.