TBILISI, March 10 – A delegation of parliamentarians from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) ended its visit with a blunt message: the country has a dialogue problem, democracy needs real competition, and the mission was denied access to detainees.
On Tuesday morning, Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili met OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Pere Joan Pons Sampietro. According to the presidential administration, the talks focused on current political processes in Georgia. The administration said Kavelashvili welcomed the visit and described it as a good opportunity to discuss key issues and deepen future cooperation.
A short time later, Minister of Internal Affairs Gela Geladze also met Sampietro in Tbilisi. Details about the content of the talks were not made available.
At midday, the delegation went to the office of Public Defender Levan Ioseliani. Later, the ombudsman’s office said Ioseliani and his first deputy, Tamar Gvaramadze, briefed the visitors on developments in the field of human rights, including the situation of people detained during the December 2024 protests and the investigations that are still ongoing.
In the afternoon and evening, the OSCE team met Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze. The government administration said the sides discussed the agenda of bilateral cooperation between Georgia and the OSCE. Kobakhidze later wrote that the talks also covered regional security and strengthening partnership with the organization, and said Georgia remains committed to constructive cooperation based on mutual respect.
But the strongest message came after the meetings were over. Speaking to journalists Tuesday evening, Sampietro said the delegation had raised the issues of lack of dialogue, boycott and violence with Georgian officials and other actors, and said there is a clear lack of dialogue in the country. He also said democracy requires competition and that all parties must be able to compete politically.
Sampietro also said the delegation had asked to visit prisoners, especially journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, and had raised that request with the prime minister, president, interior minister and parliament speaker, but received refusals.
The three-day visit ran from March 8 to March 10 and was led by Sampietro. The delegation also included OSCE PA Vice President and Special Representative for the South Caucasus Luis Graça, Political Affairs and Security Committee Vice Chair Jevrosima Pejović, Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions Committee Vice Chair Christine Blower, and Secretary General Roberto Montella.
Tuesday’s final round of meetings showed the two sides sticking to very different narratives. Georgian government officials highlighted cooperation, political discussions and regional security, while the OSCE mission, while stopping short of dramatic language, pointed instead to blocked political competition and the lack of proper dialogue.
