Berlin has recalled its ambassador to Georgia, Peter Fischer, for consultations. The decision, made by German Foreign Minister Johann Wadepoel, is intended to determine how to proceed, the ministry announced.
"For months, the Georgian leadership has issued statements against the EU, Germany, and also against German Ambassador Fischer personally. Therefore, the decision was made to recall Ambassador Fischer for consultations on further action. Tomorrow [October 20 – ed.] the EU Foreign Affairs Council will issue a statement on Georgia," the ministry said in a statement on its social media page.
The German newspaper Der Spiegel responded to the German Foreign Ministry's decision to recall its ambassador to Georgia, describing it as a consequence of "incitement to hatred" by the Georgian authorities, directed against the EU and the ambassador personally.
According to the author of the article, the recall of the German ambassador is the temporary culmination of an escalating conflict between "pro-Russian Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Fischer." The publication recalls that in mid-September, Georgian authorities had already accused Fischer of interfering in the country's internal affairs and publicly discussed his possible expulsion.
"This was due to Fischer's repeated public criticism of the Georgian government's increasingly authoritarian style of governance. Among other things, the diplomat provoked discontent by attending court hearings for opposition figures. Fischer has been under fire from the Georgian government for several months after renting the home of an opposition politician. Papuashvili accused the opposition politician of attempted tax fraud and Fischer of indirectly assisting him," Der Spiegel writes.
As a reminder, in early October, the German Foreign Ministry summoned Georgia's Chargé d'Affaires to protest aggressive statements directed at Peter Fischer. The ministry emphasized that such rhetoric from Georgian government officials is unacceptable and must cease.
In early September, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili accused Peter Fischer of interfering in the election campaign and supporting extremism following the attack on the headquarters of the ruling Georgian Dream party. Following this, the ambassador was summoned to the Georgian Foreign Ministry, reportedly the first such instance in the history of modern Georgian-German relations.
Following a meeting between First Deputy Foreign Minister Giorgi Zurabashvili and German Ambassador Peter Fischer, the Georgian Foreign Ministry issued a statement in which it emphasized the need to comply with the Vienna Convention and expressed concern over "attempts to promote a radical agenda." The German Foreign Ministry, in turn, condemned the “aggressive rhetoric” and “unfounded summons” of the ambassador to the Georgian diplomatic mission.
