Georgian Parliament Turns into “Circus Show” Over Ukraine Resolution
Discussions between the ruling Georgian Dream and opposition lawmakers over the draft Ukraine resolution today devolved into a heated exchange of accusations over a “circus show.”
Tensions boiled over during the Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee meeting today, ahead of the plenary session to vote for the draft resolution.
While the GD and major opposition forces agree that the resolution should pledge support to the fellow NATO aspiring nation amid the threat of Russian invasion, they failed to settle on the wording of the text.
The Georgian Dream refuses to mention a possible “Russian military aggression” in the draft, arguing the document was free of “provocative rhetoric.” The opposition parties regard the move as a sign of appeasement toward Moscow, and refuse to back the document.
The heated exchange began after MP Salome Samadashvili, of the Lelo faction accused Committee Chairperson Nikoloz Samkharadze of deliberately dragging out discussing the rest of the meeting’s agenda before bringing up the draft resolution.
“Could we move to debate what is important, what the whole country, as well as the international community, await?” she asked, going on to accuse the Committee Chair of being unable to adequately preside over the meeting.
“We gathered here, the plenary session is about to start and we could not get to debating the key issue,” MP Samadashvili stressed, adding “we did not come here to watch this clownery.”
MP Samkharadze retorted: “Well done, you successfully concluded another circus show and we await the next circus show in the next committee.”
- Kobakhidze Claims UNM Wants War in Georgia, Ukraine
- GD’s Draft Ukraine Resolution Criticized for Glossing Over Russia
During the bitter exchange, the Georgian Dream MP repeatedly called on his colleague not to be “rude,” to “calm down” – in a way that was dubbed as insulting in the media – and even warned to have her removed from the meeting.
The opposition lawmaker then responded by interpreting Committee Chair Samkharadze’s statement as having called “what we write in the resolution regarding Ukraine a circus show.”
“You did not even plan to discuss any resolution in this Parliament and sat warmly and sweetly in power for ten years,” she added.
The committee meeting concluded without the GD and the opposition being able to find common ground to back the resolution together.
The draft document then moved to the plenary hall and awaits voting.
Read for Background:
- Georgia’s Top Diplomat Expresses ‘Strong Support’ to Ukraine
- Georgian Opposition Calls for Cross-Party, Vocal Support to Ukraine
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
