GD Government Administration Head Zhorzholiani Meets German Ambassador Fischer
Levan Zhorzholiani, head of the Georgian Dream government administration, met with German Ambassador Peter Fischer on September 25, a day after Fischer was summoned to Georgia’s Foreign Ministry amid ruling party accusations that he and other Western diplomats are meddling in Georgia’s internal affairs and violating the Vienna Convention.
“The dignitaries reviewed the recent dynamics of relations between the two countries,” the press release from the GD government administration said. “It was noted that the Government of Georgia is not satisfied with the current level of bilateral relations and hopes that the situation will improve.”
According to the press release, the talks also touched on the diplomat’s summons at the Foreign Ministry a day earlier. “It was emphasized that this diplomatic measure was based on appropriate grounds,” the release said, adding, “The head of the Government Administration stated that the Government of Georgia attaches great importance to relations with partner countries and hopes that the work of diplomatic representatives will continue in accordance with the principles of cooperation based on mutual respect.”
The press release said the sides also discussed Georgia’s newly amended Law on Grants, which requires foreign donors to obtain government approval before disbursing funds to local groups. According to the release, Fischer “requested that the Government of Georgia allow an exception regarding the approval of grants provided by German organizations to Georgian NGOs,” but “Levan Zhorzholiani explained the procedure for obtaining consent for the issuance of grants and emphasized that the law applies equally to everyone; therefore, the Government of Georgia cannot allow discriminatory approaches.”
Following the meeting, Ambassador Fischer wrote on X: “I met Mr. Zhorzholiani, Head of Govt Admin, at my request, to ask for payments from German GOVERNMENT to be exempt from Georgian Grants Law as they are already agreed in previous German- Georgia treaties. A legit legal question. Answer: No. Germany will focus future finance on friends w/ low admin cost.”
Germany’s Foreign Office called the ambassador’s September 24 summoning at the Georgian Foreign Ministry “baseless” and defended its diplomat again, rejecting what it described as the Georgian Dream government’s “continuing aggressive rhetoric” toward him.
On September 25, the Foreign Ministry also summoned UK Ambassador Gareth Ward.
The summonses came after 27 European embassies, including those of Germany and the UK, in a joint statement rejected “baseless and damaging accusations” against Western diplomats in Georgia.
Editor’s note: This news was updated on September 25 at 18:40 to include Ambassador Fischer’s post issued on X.
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