Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Georgian counterpart following the recent unrest in that country.

I spoke to the Georgian Foreign Minister on 24 February, following the arrest of the leader of the main Georgian opposition party, Nika Melia. I expressed my concerns about recent developments and stressed the need for the judicial process following the arrest to be fair and transparent. I also underlined the need for Georgia to complete its ongoing programme of judicial reform, and offered continued UK technical support in this regard. It is crucial that all parties in Georgia engage in a constructive dialogue to resolve their differences. We are continuing to monitor events through our Embassy in Tbilisi.