Valtonen Tells Media Meeting with Kobakhidze Was Canceled By Finnish Side

Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reported on October 15 that Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, who visited Georgia in her capacity as OSCE Chair, canceled the meeting with Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze first, dismissing the Georgian government’s earlier claim that Kobakhidze called it off over her actions in Tbilisi.

Valtonen told the HS that the decision was made “at the initiative of Finland due to a schedule change, and the Georgians were informed of it last night.” The GD government said on the morning of October 15 that PM Kobakhidze canceled the planned meeting over Valtonen’s attendance at an “illegal rally” and her “false statements.”

Valtonen, who visited Georgia on October 14–15, appeared late on October 14 at an ongoing pro-EU and anti-government rally on Rustaveli Avenue, where demonstrators have gathered nightly outside Parliament for more than 320 days. For expressing solidarity with the peaceful protesters and voicing concerns over the “repressive direction” of Georgia, Valtonen faced backlash from the ruling party.

“I specifically went to watch the protests that were taking place in Georgia for weeks and months. I wanted to express my support for freedom of speech,” she told the newspaper.

“It is up to the Georgian government how they react. Unfortunately, I myself had to react by canceling the meeting with the Prime Minister in order to get to Azerbaijan,” the OSCE Chair added, as she has traveled from Tbilisi to Baku as part of her tour of South Caucasus countries.

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