Lasha Darbaidze: “I Was Demanded to Remove Photos of Ivanishvili and John Bass’s Meeting from the Website”

Former honorary consul of Georgia in U.S. Lasha Darbaidze links suspension of his authority with Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Darbaidze told the Palitra.tv that on 24 October in the USA he met a representative of the Georgian government who demanded him to remove Bidzina Ivanishvili’s photos from the consulate website. The photos were taken during the meeting between U.S. ambassador John Bass and Georgian businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili.

“I refused to remove the photos; so my authority was suspended in a day. When I inquired about the motives to remove the photos, they said we were popular among Georgian Diaspora and our interest towards the businessman could have a bad impact on people and would give a certain push”, Lasha Darbaidze said.

Today, the Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister of Georgia Nino Kalandadze stated at the traditional briefing that Darbaidze breached the labor agreement and did not meet the requirements of the honorary consul.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs periodically monitors the activities of our diplomats and honorary consuls, in order to estimate how properly they implement their obligations and meet requirements of the agreement. In this particular case, the decision was made after a discussion. Other consuls will also share the same fate if they do not follow the terms”, Nino Kalandadze said.

Palitra.tv