Germany Calls on Georgian Dream to End False Narratives, Cease Attacks on Ambassador

Germany’s new coalition government has called on the Georgian Dream government to halt disinformation campaigns, abandon hostile rhetoric toward the European Union, and end verbal attacks against German Ambassador Peter Fischer, according to an written comment from the German Foreign Ministry.

In a statement provided to opposition-leaning Formula TV on May 15 in response to a media inquiry, Germany’s Federal Foreign Office expressed “concern” over the escalating tensions, calling on the GD government to realign with European values and stop undermining the EU’s credibility.

“The German ambassador in Tbilisi represents the position of the Federal Government. We note with concern the continuing aggressive rhetoric from representatives of Georgian Dream towards the EU and its member states. Attacks against the German ambassador are unacceptable,” a spokesperson of the Federal Foreign Office said. “Germany and the EU reiterate their call on the Georgian government to stop spreading false narratives regarding European positions and policies and to change its current political course.”

Tensions escalated following comments made by Ambassador Fischer in a May 9 interview with InterpressNews. During the interview, Fischer expressed Germany’s concern over Georgia’s democratic backsliding and distancing from the European Union in key areas such as the rule of law, human rights, and democratic governance. He said that while it was ultimately up to the Georgian people to choose their country’s trajectory, it was difficult to imagine Georgia regressing to a state like Belarus, considering how far it had come and that it was granted EU candidate status. Fischer added “that Georgians are freedom-loving people who express their wish to join the EU” and emphasized that Germany and other European partners have consistently acted as friends, not hostile actors. The German Ambassador also said that in line with the EU position Germany will also enforce the abolishment of visa-free regime for holders of Georgian diplomatic and service passports. He also dismissed the allegation of a so-called “deep state” influencing Western policy, said it doesn’t exist and that he would be curious to see it if somebody showed it to him.

Those remarks were not well received by members of the ruling party. On May 12, Gia Volski, First Vice Speaker of the GD Parliament, accused the ambassador of knowingly denying the existence of a “deep state” and claimed that Fischer himself was part of it, “involved as one of the small bolts.” Volski asserted that even the U.S. administration acknowledges the existence of this system and went further, accusing Germany of applying double standards in its international policies.

One day later, on May 13, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili echoed similar sentiments in a Facebook post that implied hypocrisy on the part of Germany. He slammed the German government, for banning the so-called “Reichsbürger” group “on the grounds that they “do not recognize the legitimacy of the elected government of Germany”, “create parallel government structures”, “boycott government decisions”, “obstruct the work of the police”, “claim that Germany is ruled by an occupying force”, while he said, financing in Georgia “those groups that do not recognize the legitimacy of the elected government of Georgia, create parallel government structures, boycott government decisions, obstruct the work of the police, and claim that Georgia is ruled by an occupying force.” Papuashvili noted reproachfully: “This is happening at the same time and on the same planet.”

President Salome Zurabishvili weighed in on May 15, stating during a press briefing that the reaction from Berlin was a “very strict” message from Germany’s new administration.

“We heard a very strict reaction from the new German administration regarding how they view the insults that their ambassador — who represents German policy in this country — received from this government,” Zurabishvili said. “These attacks against Germany as a state, against its representative, and against the EU ambassador and other attacks are utterly unacceptable. They only serve to deepen our isolation — which, it seems, is the goal of this government.”

This is not the first time that the Georgian Dream has attacked the German ambassador. On February 25, 2025, the GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze slammed Fischer, declaring that “Germany does not have an ambassador in Georgia today. They have a representative in the radical opposition.” Kobakhidze suggested that bilateral relations could improve only after Germany appointed new diplomatic personnel.

Also Read:

• 24/03/2025 – Germany Introduces Further Entry Bans on GD Officials
• 04/12/2024 – Germany Suspends Development Cooperation with Georgia over Democracy Concerns and U-Turn on EU Path
• 10/07/2024 – Ambassador: Germany Stops New Financing, Pulls out from Drills, Keeps Student Visas

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