By TBILISI. May 11 (Interfax) – Georgia’s ruling party Georgian Dream has ceded its observer status in the Party of European Socialists, Georgian Dream Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze said at a press briefing on Thursday.
The party has made this decision because of the harsh criticism leveled at Georgian Dream by leaders of the European Socialists after Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili attended a conference of conservative politicians in Budapest.
“Our party’s participation at the top level and the prime minister’s remarks at the conference indicated our support for traditional universal human values. Unfortunately, the leaders of the European Socialists harshly criticized us and threatened to review cooperation with our party. This kind of attitude by the European Socialists leaders is fundamentally unacceptable to us,” Kobakhidze said.
He also decried European Socialists for supporting the European Union’s resolution on imposing sanctions on Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili and demanding that former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili be freed from jail.
“In these conditions, Georgian Dream’s membership of the Party of European Socialists is impossible,” Kobakhidze said.
