Georgian MP accuses US Ambassador of double standards

MP from the ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party Irakli Zarkua accused Kelly Degnan, the US Ambassador to Tbilisi, of double standards, Report informs via Sputnik-Georgia.

The day before, the ruling party of Georgia for the second time prevented the opposition from setting up a parliamentary commission to investigate possible corruption in the judiciary. The US Ambassador said that the Georgian authorities' protection of judges against whom the United States has imposed sanctions does not mean solidarity with the judiciary.

"I want to tell Mrs. Degnan that double standards will not work anywhere, such an approach will not work for you. We are a dignified country, I am the son of my country, the son of my people, the son of the greatest civilization, the greatest culture. This is not a banana republic, and here every decision and every word has a price," Zarkua said on a local program.

According to the deputy, it is unacceptable when sanctions are imposed on one of the most important branches of power - the judiciary, and then they retreat and say that these were not sanctions, but restrictions, and at the same time, they do not want to present any arguments.

It is about three current judges Mikhail Chinchaladze, Levan Murusidze, Irakli Shengelia and one former judge Valerian Tsertsvadze, against whom on April 5 the United States imposed visa restrictions for "involvement in corruption."

Georgian Dream insists that it was after the change of power that the judiciary in Georgia became independent. The Georgian authorities called it incomprehensible and unacceptable to accuse judges of corruption without presenting evidence. In response, the US Ambassador stated that the accusation was based on publicly available information. "This information and allegations have been known for many years," she said.

Earlier, Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili sent a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, where he expressed hope that the State Department would provide relevant evidence on corruption accusations or reconsider its decision.