Speaker Papuashvili: Rep Joe Wilson has obsession with Georgia; we ought to let him be, he has his income to collect

“We ought to stop making serious comments on Rep Joe Wilson’s obsession. There is nothing we can do about it; we cannot explain it, we cannot prove anything to him, and there is nothing we can say,” declared Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili.

He further remarked that Joe Wilson is party to various lobbying contracts and derives income from the whole affair.

“The only contact we are actually observing is the negotiations between the United States and the Iranian government. He would do better to speak to his own government about what contacts and negotiations are taking place.

When did you last feel Iranian influence in Georgia? When did the Iranian wind last blow here? This is not serious. In truth, we all know perfectly well that this is the obsession of one man, Joe Wilson. This individual has an obsession with Georgia. There is not a single word from him that does not contain that magic formula: ‘pro-Iranian’, the Chinese Communist Party, and sundry other incantations. The man has an obsession and repeats it like a mantra. When a person has an obsession, we cannot respond to it politically; it requires a different kind of answer altogether. We ought to stop making serious comments on Joe Wilson’s obsession. There is nothing we can do about it. We cannot explain it, prove anything to him, or say anything further.

We know that this individual is party to various lobbying contracts; reports have been published on the matter, amongst other things. So let us leave him to it. He has his income tied to this subject; let him make his statement and collect whatever income he has, if any. If saying these things about Georgia somehow helps him and improves his lot in life, he is a man of advancing years, and we can indulge him one or two such pronouncements. We cannot prove that we are not elephants. If a man is going to be a friend of Giorgi Kandelaki and dance to his tune, what can we do? Let us forget the whole thing. Let’s wait and see. He has announced his intention to leave politics; after the upcoming elections, he will be stepping away. Let us wait for this man to depart from politics in peace. We shall endure it. He has ten attempts left to call us ‘pro-Iranian’ and ‘pro-Chinese’. We shall somehow endure, in the hope that all of this will soon be over,” declared Papuashvili.

For context, Republican Congressman Joe Wilson declared: “The Georgian Dream regime supports the terrorist regime in Tehran.”