Ruling party: ‘we were ready to sign EU-offered document with slight changes’
The ruling party has accused the opposition of being destructive in the EU-mediated talks. Photo: facebook.
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The ruling Georgian Dream party says that they were ready to sign an agreement offered by the EU mediator in the talks with the opposition if several changes were introduced in it.
The ruling party MP Mamuka Mdinaradze stated earlier today that the opposition has refused to discuss any changes if their top demands on the conduct of repeat parliamentary elections and the release of opposition figures were not fulfilled.
They were against any discussions without the fulfilment of the top demands,” Mdinaradze said.
.@DanielssonEU, Envoy of @eucopresident for EU mediated dialogue in Georgia, publishes proposal made today to Georgian political parties.
— EU Delegation Georgia ???????? (@EUinGeorgia) March 30, 2021
➡️English: https://t.co/qAO8G1IRhn
➡️Georgian: https://t.co/36e5EUr6PI
The opposition parties accused the ruling party of being destructive and said that no agreement will be acceptable for them which will not include the issue of repeat parliamentary elections and the release of ‘political prisoners.’
A leader of the United National Movement opposition party Khatia Dekanoidze has expressed hope that after the two fruitless involvement of the EU in the talks, now the US will get involved.
The opposition parties say that they will now prepare for the May 15 anti-government rally.
The ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition have failed to come to an agreement in EU-mediated talks for the second time yesterday.
Today’s press statements of @DanielssonEU, Envoy of @eucopresident to the EU-mediated political dialogue in Georgia
— EU Delegation Georgia ???????? (@EUinGeorgia) March 30, 2021
➡️ https://t.co/VfzznfmLSH pic.twitter.com/evQHX9pLBC
The document offered by EU mediator Christian Danielsson yesterday which concerned ‘ambitious electoral and judicial reform’ and offered amnesty for suspects and convicts of the June 2019 protests (including the head of the United National Movement opposition party Nika Melia) in Tbilisi was not signed by any of the parties.
The document did not include the conduct of repeat parliamentary elections and the release of the co-founder of the opposition-minded TV channel Mtavari Arkhi Giorgi Rurua (along with Melia) which has been demanded by the opposition since November 2020.
The ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition have failed to come to an agreement in EU-mediated talks for the second time. The document offered by EU mediator Christian Danielsson yesterday which concerned ‘ambitious electoral and judicial reform’ and offered amnesty for suspects and convicts of the June 2019 protests in Tbilisi was not signed by any of the parties.
The ruling Georgian Dream party says that the chance is about fifty-fifty of reaching an agreement with the parliamentary opposition on election-related issues and the release of imprisoned opposition figures amid the current political tension. The statement came after today’s meeting with the EU mediator in talks between the ruling party and the opposition Christian Danielsson who returned to Tbilisi on March 27 after previous mediation efforts failed earlier this month.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has stated that the ruling Georgian Dream party is ready for a ‘constructive dialogue’ with the opposition to solve the current political tension ‘as soon as possible.’ Garibashvili made the statement earlier today after his meeting with EU mediator Christian Danielsson who returned back to Tbilisi on March 27 after the failure of his previous mediation efforts earlier this month.
Former opposition MP and the head of the United National Movement opposition party Nika Melia has been arrested by police earlier today for refusal to post bail shortly after the parliament approved Irakli Garibashvili prime minister and his cabinet late yesterday. Melia was arrested in his office in the UNM headquarters in Tbilisi by special unit servicemen. Police allegedly used pepper spray in the room.
Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE Ann Linde has tweeted earlier today that she ‘regrets’ that political parties in Georgia have not reached an agreement to end the ‘current impasse'. "A solution is needed to strengthen Georgia’s democracy, development and European integration", she wrote on Twitter.
Seven MEPs have released a joint statement saying that they are ‘deeply disappointed’ with political leaders in Georgia ‘for their inability’ to reach an agreement in the EU-mediated talks last Tuesday on election-related issues and the release of opposition figures. They said that the proposal offered by EU-mediator in the talks Christian Danielsson was ‘in the best interests of Georgia.’
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent has reacted to the failed EU-mediated talks between Georgian political parties and has told the Voice of America Georgian bureau that the Georgian government ‘is risking the goodwill’ of the US Senate ‘which has been too generous to Georgia over years’ in providing the financial aid.
Member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs Michael Gahler says the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition United National Movement (UNM) should reach an agreement on the release of UNM leader Nika Melia from the detention facility if he will wear a monitoring bracelet again.
The US Department of State is ‘disappointed’ that the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition have not yet come to an agreement to ease the current political tension in Georgia, Voice of America (VoA) cites the US Department of State as saying.