During the annual "Year in Review" press conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin, responding to a question about support for young families, noted the tradition of early marriages in the North Caucasus. He said he believed this was "right" and suggested "following their example," citing Ramzan Kadyrov's large family.
Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili criticized the statement by European Union Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas that the European Union supports the Georgian people, but not the country's government.
The politician views such statements as a "verbal abolition of Georgia's sovereignty." He believes this is tantamount to interference in the country's internal affairs. Papuashvili compared Kallas's statements to the actions of the Red Army in 1921, when Georgia was occupied, pointing to an attempt to "do with words" what had previously been done by force.
He emphasized that the right to choose their government belongs exclusively to the Georgian people and called Brussels' position out of touch with reality. He also noted that Western politicians had created an unrealistic perception in Georgia and Ukraine about joining NATO.
The day before, Kaja Kallas stated that the current Georgian government policy is not aligned with the European Union. Therefore, Georgia's EU candidacy will not be pursued.