Georgian Parliament Speaker stresses harmful nature of all external interference

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said on Saturday that there was no distinction between friendly and hostile actors when it came to external interference, stressing that all forms of such interference were harmful.

“We, too, exercised patience, remained silent, and largely turned a blind eye when our elections were subject to interference. For instance, there were projects, and the US even launched an entire campaign aimed at boosting voter turnout. Who asked the US, Germany, or France to increase the participation of Georgian voters?” the Speaker said.

“The very fact that they involve themselves and believe they have the right to do so implies that they have a vested interest in such actions. When it comes to external interference, there is no such thing as a friendly or hostile actor - all external interference is bad”, he concluded.