Tbilisi may have refused to let the insult slide because Georgia’s coronavirus response has become an electoral platform for the governing party, which faces a parliamentary vote this fall.
Two weeks after the country largely ended its lockdown, the number of coronavirus cases has shot up and the government is preparing to use a repurposed sports hall to treat patients.
Armenian ruling party members have been involved in two physical altercations in recent days. They say they are just responding to verbal provocations.
Facebook has pulled the plug on a fake news operation in Georgia that had been capitalizing on the coronavirus pandemic to sway public opinion in favor of the government.
Even with coronavirus serving as a belated impetus to push through long-stalled reforms, the five members of the Eurasian Economic Union show limited willingness to help each other.