The French ambassador to Georgia. Pascal Meunier made a statement on Rustavi 2 He spoke about the importance of the free media. He also said that the international community now stands by Rustavi 2.

"As you know the freedom of expression and the freedom of media is the basis of democracy. And the same way in 2007 the international community, beginning with the EU, was by the side of Imedi TV, when it was confronted with the same problems, today we stand by Rustavi 2, because we think that the pluralism in a democratic society is very important.

We have seen statements of many embassies about Rustavi 2 last week; ECHR decided to suspend the decision; the meaning of this is ver important. As your Prime Minister said, Georgia is very eager to respect its obligations in the framework of EU-Georgia Association Agreement.

So, I think the message is clear. We want to pass a message that Georgia is considered today the best example of the success story in the frames of the EU Eastern Partnership. So, it would be a pity if the image could be damaged. But we are confident that Georgia remains a democratic country improving its status every day”, said Pascal Meunier.