The ruling party has taken a clearly defined Russian path, has set itself on that Russian path, and is portraying itself as if it wants to move towards Europe, – the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, stated in her speech delivered in the European Parliament. “This actually started before the elections, although many people might not see it, and I myself did not clearly see the Russian path of Georgian Dream, which began on June 29, 2019, with the Gavrilov incident.”
As the President noted, in Georgia the “people are on one side, and the repressive machine of the government is on the other”.
“There are no two parts of Georgia. We may be heading towards civil confrontation. There are no two sides. On one side are the people of Georgia and on the other side is the repressive machine of the government. I would like to tell you that the ruling party has taken a clearly defined Russian path, has set itself on the Russian path and is portraying itself as if it wants to move towards Europe, and why? Because their supporters also want the European path, 80% of the population of Georgia, all public opinion polls and elections after independence show this. These numbers show us. If the leaders of the Georgian Dream want at least some part of their dream to remain, they are trying to partially preserve this hope.
“This actually started before the elections, although many might not see it, and I myself did not see it clearly, the Russian path of the Georgian Dream, which began on June 29, 2019, during the Gavrilov incident, the Russian who took the chair of the Chairman of the Georgian Parliament. This was a very strange incident, then Covid began raging and this incident was forgotten.
“Then the rejection of the Charles Michel document occurred. This was another clear sign that there was a departure from the reforms that the European Union demanded and a movement in a different direction was taking place.
“In February 2022, the war in Ukraine began, and on the 24th, Russian aggression began actively. The Prime Minister went to the monument to the Russian occupation of Georgia of 1921 and said there, and I quote – ‘Georgia has no intention of engaging in financial and economic sanctions against Russia. This is based on our national interests’. No sanctions came into force at that time.
“Then there was 2023, the presentation of the first ‘Russian law’. This was followed by Russian rhetoric regarding Ukraine. The Prime Minister accused NATO of provoking the continuation of the war or its start.
“Then came the second ‘Russian law’ in 2024, then Russian rhetoric.
“Then followed a speech by one of Georgia’s rulers, Ivanishvili, who spoke about the ‘global war party’ and blamed European partners for practically everything. In this period, amid anti-Western rhetoric, we heard many accusations and anti-LGBT talk, suggesting America and Europe intend to take away our identity, our national values, to take away our uniqueness. You have heard a lot about this,” said the President.
