The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Georgia has sent a protest note to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Secretariat regarding the attendance of the visiting OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (CiO), Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Elina Valtonen, to an anti-government rally in Georgian capital Tbilisi.

The note states that on Tuesday, Valtonen deviated from her official visit schedule, joined a small group of activists who “had been freely, though illegally, blocking the main avenue of Tbilisi,” and made public statements “which do not reflect the reality,” reports Novosti-Gruzia.

The Georgian MFA considers this “a deliberate attempt to mislead the international community regarding the situation in Georgia.”

“These actions contradict the spirit of cooperation under the OSCE and could be considered a clear abuse of the CiO mandate, undermining credibility and the expected neutrality,” the Georgian MFA added in its statement, notes the Georgian Public Broadcaster.

Her participation in the rally had led to the cancellation of her planned meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze Wednesday morning. However, Valtonen maintains that the negotiations had to be postponed on her own initiative due to a revised schedule.

During the rally, Valtonen had recorded a video message expressing support for protesters concerned about their country’s course of repression and affirming that they have all the rights to democracy, freedom of speech, and fundamental human rights.

Kobakhidze was particularly upset by Valtonen presenting the protest as if it had just started, while in reality, the rally was already in full swing.

And it was announced Thursday that Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs had fined the Finnish politician 5,000 laris (approx. US$1,845) for illegally blocking a road.