A rally in support of German Ambassador Peter Fischer, dubbed the "Georgian-German Friendship March," took place in Tbilisi. Participants, starting from the German Embassy, concluded at the parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue.
The organizers of the rally stated that the ambassador is a symbol of the Georgian-German partnership, and his support for democratic values and Georgia's European integration has been criticized by the authorities.
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 incident 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 for the diplomat to comply with the Vienna Convention and expressed concern over "attempts to promote a radical agenda." The German Foreign Ministry, for its part, condemned the "aggressive rhetoric" and the "unfounded summons" of the ambassador to the Georgian diplomatic mission.
