Baltic foreign ministers express concern over political situation in Georgia

  • 2021-02-25
  • LETA/TBT Staff

RIGA - The foreign ministers of the Baltic states have released a joint statement expressing concerns about the political developments in Georgia. 

As LETA was told at the Latvian Foreign Ministry, the foreign ministers of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania are urging all political forces to act with restraint, de-escalate the situation and seek constructive solution in the interest of Georgia and all its citizens. 

"We stress the critical importance of the rule of law and political dialogue in order to resolve the current crisis," the ministers said. "We are concerned about the detention of Nika Melia, the leader of the main opposition party, United National Movement. This risks undermining the possibility of dialogue between the ruling party and the opposition," the ministers said in the statement.

"We believe in the future of Georgia as a free, independent and democratic state. We support the choice of the Georgian citizens to associate their country’s future with the democratic transatlantic community and to aim for integration with the European Union and NATO. We stress the importance of political stability in order to reach those ambitious foreign policy goals," the Baltic ministers said.

Thousands of anti-government protesters have been rallying in Georgia this week after the arrest of opposition leader Nika Melia, deepening a political crisis that erupted after disputed elections last year.