Russian Foreign Ministry Responds to Gabunia's Statement

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation responded to the offensive speech of one of the journalists of the Rustavi 2 TV channel Giorgi Gabunia directed towards President Vladimir Putin.

According to the Ministry, they assess Gabunia’s statement as a provocation and say Georgia should expect an adequate reaction from international organizations and the journalist community.

“We strictly condemn such behavior, which is unprecedented due to its rate of humiliation, and the offensive expressions directed towards the Russian leadership used by the Georgian TV Company "Rustavi 2". We see this fact as yet another obvious provocation by the radical forces of Georgia aimed at destroying the Russian-Georgian relations.

"We expect an adequate reaction from international organizations and journalist community. Such events should not take place in civilized countries”, reads the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry. The above-mentioned information was spread by the news agency "Tass".

Rustavi 2 anchor Giorgi Gabunia insulted Vladimir Putin on Sunday night. He read a monologue, very offensive to Putin in its form and context, in Russian during his live broadcast. 

Gabunia’s statement comes amid street rallies in Georgia which were sparked by the visit of three Russian MPs to Georgia within the framework of a session of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy held at the Parliament building on June 20, which was followed by severe protests by the public and opposition MPs, especially due to the fact that Russian MP Sergei Gavrilov sat in the parliamentary Speaker’s chair, speaking in Russian.

Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry/Facebook 

By Ana Dumbadze