TBILISI, February 11 – In a wide-ranging interview with Interpressnews, Germany’s ambassador in Tbilisi, Peter Fischer, touched on the OSCE’s “Moscow Mechanism” probe, EU sanctions, and what he called disinformation attacks.
Fischer said the expert mission launched under the OSCE mechanism will look broadly at events in Georgia, including protests in November and December 2024 as well as developments in 2025.
The mechanism, used by OSCE participating states to examine serious concerns related to human rights and other commitments, has become a new flashpoint in Georgia’s polarized debate. In the interview, Fischer pushed back against the idea that multiple international bodies could simultaneously be fabricating their assessments, framing the question as whether it is plausible that organizations like the OSCE, the UN, the Council of Europe and the EU would all be “lying.”
Fischer also addressed a question that often comes up in Georgian politics: why the European Union has not imposed personal sanctions on top Georgian officials. He urged what he described as a “realistic” approach to sanctions, explaining in detail that personal sanctions are not a matter of political taste but a legal process that requires evidence and specific grounds.
In that context, Fischer stressed that Western partners have not “abandoned” Georgia, using the line: “we have not abandoned you and we will not abandon you!”
The ambassador also revisited a controversy from October 2025, when Germany temporarily recalled him to Berlin for consultations. Fischer said the key message he received from Germany’s leadership was a call for disinformation campaigns targeting him and Germany to stop.
The interview drew commentary from political analyst Zaal Anjaparidze, who told Rezonansi that Fischer’s remarks acted like a “cold shower” for those who, in his view, had built unrealistic expectations about sanctions.
