Against the backdrop of events in Russia following a coup d'etat attempt, the President of Georgia, Salome Zourabishvili, called on the Prime Minister to convene the Security Council.

As the president stated at the briefing, the issues to be discussed at the Council were the tightening of border control, the revision of the visa regime, and the use of lists of persons sanctioned at the border.

"As the country's president and commander-in-chief, I am obliged to familiarize myself with the development of events and all possible effects on the country's interests. Therefore, I got acquainted with the information provided by the commander of our defense forces, Major General Matiashvili, about the developments in Russia. Unfortunately, I could not get the necessary information from any other responsible state structure, not even from the Minister of Internal Affairs, who is responsible for controlling our border and at the same time as the Secretary of the Security Council. In general, important issues of the country's security must be mastered, not even from the head of the State Security Service, one of whose directions, according to the law of his agency, is to protect the country from external threats; Not even from the head of the intelligence service, which is mandated by law to determine foreign risks and provide the country's officials with the necessary intelligence information. Not only the information could not be received, but also the connection could not be made, which is alarming in this situation. 

Therefore, I am forced to publicly call on the Prime Minister to immediately convene the Security Council. I believe several important issues need to be discussed, and time is running out. One is to tighten border controls and revise the visa regime. The second is the use of lists of sanctioned persons at the border. An information vacuum should not be created, and the public should receive all the information it needs in a timely and detailed manner about what measures the government is taking to protect the country's security so as not to create groundless fears and spread false information and the Council should also consider the existing reactions In Abkhazia and Tskhinvali, in order not to allow the separatists to use these events to incite misplaced fears of Georgia among the population. Our policy has not changed and will not change; Georgia will not return territories by force; this must be said and repeated. Finally, it is necessary to continue exchanging information and close communication with our partners," the president said.

Chairman of the ruling party "Georgian Dream" Irakli Kobakhidze responded to the call of former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia on the developments in Russia and says that now, “we have to observe these events and this is the only thing we have to do.”

Kobakhidze called everyone to be calm and assured that the country's security and "everything" is protected: "During this entire period, the state agencies are taking care of this. The state stands firmly on the security guard, and we don't need anyone's instructions, especially Gakharia's instructions on this," said Kobakhidze. When asked by a journalist if they are considering closing the border, he added: “It's stupid; I can't comment on stupidity.”

Before that, Giorgi Gakharia, the leader of the "For Georgia" party, called on the authorities to convene the Security Council and temporarily close the border with Russia due to the ongoing processes in Russia.

"The danger is real! The state border of Georgia - Lars border crossing point is the closest point to the escalation zone. To maintain peace, timely action is necessary," he wrote in a statement published on the Facebook page.

Grigol Gegelia, a member of the "Lelo for Georgia" political party, said that against the background of the events in Russia from June 24, which were both a source of risks and a space of unique opportunities, the government of Georgia once again showed incompetence and capitulant psychology.