TBILISI, July 24, 2025 — Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze has sharply criticized EU Ambassador to Georgia, Paweł Herczyński, saying the envoy should be expelled from the country for allegedly meddling in domestic politics.
Speaking at a press briefing, Kaladze said, “If it were up to me, I would expel him. First and foremost, Georgian statehood must be respected. An ambassador has no right to interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign state or fuel public division and polarization.”
The mayor’s comments come in response to Herczyński’s recent statement urging Georgian authorities to “end political repression, release unjustly detained individuals, repeal problematic laws, and restore open dialogue with the European Union” as a condition for getting back on track with EU integration.
Kaladze dismissed the ambassador’s remarks as “inflammatory” and “based on falsehoods,” accusing him of promoting extremism rather than diplomacy. “Statements like his only serve to deepen tensions. Diplomats should be facilitators of cooperation, not agents of provocation,” the mayor added.
The sharp rhetoric underscores growing tensions between the Georgian Dream-led government and Western diplomats, amid accusations of democratic backsliding and a controversial foreign agents law passed earlier this year. While EU officials maintain their calls for democratic reforms, ruling party figures have increasingly portrayed such criticisms as external interference in Georgia’s sovereign decision-making.
