The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Lithuanian Seimas has a adopted a statement on Georgia, that while firmly backing Georgia’s EU and NATO aspirations, criticizes the ruling Georgian Dream party and the government over Ukraine rhetoric and other issues.
Criticism: Ukraine Rhetoric, Russia Sanctions, Stalin
The statement, dated April 6, deplores the current intergovernmental relations between Georgia and Ukraine, and the statements by Georgia’s ruling party leaders “to undermine the Ukrainian leadership and Ukraine’s heroic fight for European freedoms and values.”
Noting the full support and solidarity of the Georgian people with Ukraine, the statement invites the Georgian Government and the Georgian Dream to express “full support” for the Ukrainian Government.
Taking note of the deep political polarization in Georgia, the document said, “attacks on the media and imprisonment of political opponents function to reinforce Russia’s malign influence over the Georgian society.”
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Also, it expresses concerns over the Georgian Government’s public refusal to join international economic and individual sanctions against Russia.
Importantly, also, Lithuanian MPs condemn “the establishment in Georgia of signs to perpetuate the memory of the dictator of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin.”
Further, the Lithuanian parliamentary committee calls on the Georgian leadership to facilitate the transfer of the imprisoned ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has “serious health issues, to a European state for urgent treatment.”
Backing Georgia’s Sovereignty, Western Path
The statement fully supports Georgia’s territorial integrity and the choice of Georgia’s authorities and people to seek membership of the EU and NATO.
The document invites NATO countries and EU Member States to support the drafting of an Action Plan for Georgia’s NATO accession and granting the status of an EU candidate country to Georgia.
“Given Georgia joins the EU’s common foreign and security policy statements as well as the policies and sanctions of NATO countries and EU Member States targeted against the autocratic regimes in Belarus and Russia,” it adds.
The statement says Russia’s War against Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine today in the result of the “indecisiveness” of some of the western countries that resisted their NATO membership in 2008.
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The document notes that Georgia and Ukraine have a shared European prospect, and both constitute targets of Russia’s aggressive policy aimed at reclaiming Georgia and Ukraine into its sphere of influence.
According to the document, Russia’s illegal actions in the occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Regions are replicated in the Ukrainian Donetsk and Luhansk Regions, and the Crimea.
It condemns any initiative by the leaders of the occupied regions to hold a referendum on status change under the current conditions of occupation.
The document also calls on all Georgian political parties to join their forces amid Russian danger “as unity is needed for defending the national interests and territorial integrity of Georgia.”
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