Georgian Deputy Speaker accuses CoE of ‘blackmail’ ahead of PACE debates

Deputy Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Nino Tsilosani, has accused the Council of Europe of attempting to “blackmail” Georgia ahead of a scheduled debate on the country at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) later today.

Tsilosani claimed that the planned discussions, along with previous statements and resolutions concerning Georgia, were part of a broader effort to pressure the country and question its European achievements.

“If we ask the question why so many unfair and disinformation statements are made, debates or resolutions are organized and adopted, the answer is a priori that they are blackmailing us - blackmailing our country,” Tsilosani said.

She warned that Georgian citizens were being subjected to intimidation aimed at reversing key milestones, including visa-free access to the European Union’s Schengen zone.

“Each of our citizens is being intimidated into taking away the benefits that we have rightfully earned, for example, visa liberalization. Of course, this serves to blackmail this country as a whole in order to make it a colony and subordinate to someone supposedly superior to us,” she added.