Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of recent arrests of political leaders in Georgia.

I am deeply concerned by the recent, politically motivated, sentencing of prominent Georgian opposition leaders. On 23 June, I urged Georgian Dream to stop misusing the judiciary to silence opposition voices, and to release all political prisoners.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) summoned the Georgian Chargé d'Affaires to formally register our concerns about Georgian Dream's unacceptable actions. On 1 July, I spoke with a number of European partners to discuss our collective concerns and, on 11 July, the Foreign Secretary issued a joint statement condemning the politically motivated detentions of opposition politicians.

While Georgian Dream's actions negatively affect our bilateral relations, the UK remains a firm supporter of the Georgian people's Euro-Atlantic aspirations and stands ready to support a return to democratic norms and European values.