Report: EU Ministers Setting Up Georgia Crisis ‘Mediator Group’

The Lithuanian Public Broadcaster cited Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis as saying on March 5 that EU foreign ministers are working to establish a mediator group to help the Georgian government and the opposition solve the political crisis.

“There are plans [to go to Georgia], we are now looking into whether such a visit would be beneficial. A mediator group from foreign ministers is being set up, and it would definitely include more than one country,” the Lithuanian Public Broadcaster quoted FM Landsbergis.

The Lithuanian Foreign Minister added reportedly: “I believe it would be important to send a signal to Georgia not only from Lithuania […], it should be a European signal because we are talking about Georgia’s continued European and Transatlantic integration.”

Georgia’s post-election crisis – with major opposition parties rejecting October 31, 2020, general election results and refusing to enter the new parliament, deepened after the Georgian Dream Government stormed the office of the United National Movement to detain its leader Nika Melia on February 23.

The detention came as Melia, charged for inciting violence and parliament storming in June 2019 anti-Russian occupation unrest, refused to pay additional bail, imposed on him after throwing monitoring tag during one of November rallies to protest “rigged” elections.

On March 1, European Council President Charles Michel, during his visit to Tbilisi, brought the opposing sides together to relaunch dialogue, which stalled since early December. Michel also said the EU moved from facilitation to mediation of the protracted crisis.

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