This statement was made by the Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia, Minister of Culture and Sport Tea Tsulukiani, at a briefing after a government meeting, as reported by TASS.
“The silence of the President of Georgia, who refrains from congratulating Mr. Aliyev on his victory, I think, harms our state. We all want to remind our President that this is a region where geopolitical risks and security risks have increased in recent years,” Tsulukiani said. “The Government of Georgia cares daily to insure these risks, and against this background, the President, who is the Commander-in-Chief, refrains from congratulating our neighbor, partner, friend of the state on the election victory. This is political shortsightedness.”
Tsulukiani added that Zourabichvili’s goal should be to maintain and develop partnership relations with Azerbaijan, but she is doing the opposite.
Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Defense of Georgia, Irakli Garibashvili, also criticized Zourabichvili. “It is unclear to me the inaction that the President demonstrates in this direction, because it is clear to everyone that we have strategic partnership and cooperation with the Republic of Azerbaijan. We have special relations with the leader of Azerbaijan, which has facilitated the implementation of successful projects between our countries on several occasions. On the other hand, simple diplomatic etiquette requires that such congratulations be given even earlier,” Garibashvili said at a briefing after the government meeting.
