“I think the best thing for the Georgian authorities is to look in the mirror and face reality,” said Anita Hipper, European Commission Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, answering a question from Euroscope editor Tamar Nutsibidze.

She was asked how she assesses: the daily arrests of Georgian citizens at peaceful protests, and Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili’s statement today that “moral and political responsibility for these arrests lies with the EU Ambassador in Georgia and Finland’s Foreign Minister.”

“I think the best thing for the Georgian authorities is to look in the mirror and face reality – the reality that they are building a highly repressive regime directed against peaceful people, the media, and journalists.When you are confident in your democracy and your behaviour, you do not feel the need to arrest your opponents. You do not feel the need to arrest innocent people,” the Commission spokesperson said.

She added that the Georgian authorities are urged to return to dialogue with society.

“We are against all forms of violence.We call on the authorities to return to dialogue with their own society and to ensure that this violence does not escalate further,” Anita Hipper said.