On diplomatic appointments

In recent months, Georgia's government and President Salome Zourabichvili have made conflicting comments on whether the President has vetoed or not blocked ambassadorial appointments. The Government Administration refuted media allegations on March 29, citing the Presidential Administration, that President Zourabichvili had signed off on all ambassadorial nominations in the previous year.

"Unfortunately, this information does not accurately reflect the current situation. We would like to stress that the President has frequently rejected or left unresolved problems pertaining to individuals offered by the Georgian government as ambassadors/heads of mission in recent months," the Government's Press Service stated.

"Accusing the President of Georgia or her administration of lying, which lacks politeness and any grounds, causes unwanted tension in the society, when much more key issues are resolved around us," President Salome Zourabichvili said on Facebook. The Georgian Presidential Administration stated that the Georgian Dream-led administration proposed 12 candidates for Ambassador or Head of Mission between January 1, 2021, and March 21, 2022, all of whom were approved by the President.

Earlier, the ruling Georgian Dream called Zourabichvili's apparent failure to accept government-nominated candidates for multiple ambassadorships a "gross breach of the constitution." It stated it will go to the country's Constitutional Court "to obtain confirmation of President of Georgia's breach of the Constitution."

In a related event, the party suggested a constitutional change that would allow the majority to take more direct legal action against the president. The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association, a rule-of-law monitor, stated in an analysis of the case that the Constitutional Court may now only assess the constitutionality of the president's formal decrees, not her acts. This would be changed under the proposed amendment. "The bill's introduction plainly reflects an attempt by Georgian Dream to settle scores with the president," the organisation claimed.

Autocephaly of Ukrainian Church

President Salome Zourabichvili has come out in support of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's autocephaly from the Moscow Patriarchate. President Zourabichvili made her remarks at a prayer session at Tbilisi's Sioni (Zion) Cathedral on the day of the Georgian Orthodox Church's restoration of autocephaly. Zourabichvili stated that "Russia has lost all moral rights to be considered as a co-believer in any other Orthodox Church."

In January 2019, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople signed a tomos (decree) restoring autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, ending Russia's centuries-long ecclesiastical dominance over the country. Several high-ranking Georgian priests have expressed personal support for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's independence.