Zurabishvili to Lithuanian Seimas: Georgia falling to Russia would be a strategic disaster for Europe

On March 25, former Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili delivered a significant address at the plenary session of the Lithuanian Seimas, emphasizing the critical importance of Georgia’s sovereignty and its aspirations for European integration. In her speech, Zurabishvili expressed deep concern over recent developments in Georgia, characterizing the current government as “Russian-inspired” and accusing it of systematically dismantling democratic institutions and jeopardizing the nation’s European future.

Highlighting the urgency of the situation, she appealed to European leaders to ensure that Georgia’s challenges remain a priority on the EU agenda. Zurabishvili warned that overlooking Georgia’s plight could have broader implications for regional stability and security.

“Europe must act now, if we allow Georgia to fall into Russian hands again, it will not only be a tragedy for my country, it will be a strategic catastrophe for Europe,” – she emphasized.

She claimed that if Russia succeeds in Georgia, it will prove that Russia no longer needs military aggression, military invasion to achieve its goals, “it can simply use, at a much lower cost to itself, hybrid warfare, electoral manipulation, economic coercion and the imposition of internal control to remove democratic governments and replace them with authoritarian projects.”

“It is testing new ground in Georgia, as it did in 2008 when it tried military aggression. If it turns out that achieving success is easier and much cheaper than the very uncertain issue of a war against Ukraine, which has already cost Russia a lot, Russia will definitely extend its new strategy to countries where it is already conducting some preliminary tests, and these are Romania and Moldova. They will try to use this in the Ukrainian elections, which may be very dangerous, and give Russia what it was unable to gain through this aggressive war,” Zurabishvili noted.

She further expressed the concern that the Georgian government is beginning to return the country to Russian domination and the Russian model of governance.

“The crisis in Georgia is intensifying. In addition to the election fraud, in addition to the political crisis, where the opposition is contesting the election results, when the ruling party is trying to consolidate power at any cost, we are facing a different challenge, which can only be called an existential challenge. The ruling party, which initially came to power with the support of the absolute majority of the country’s population, because it came to power with a pro-European program, a program of democratic reforms, decided on November 28 of last year to turn its back on its own promises, which are spelled out in Article 78 of the Constitution, to turn its back on the nation’s expressed desire for Georgia to join the European family, and against all the expectations and aspirations of the Georgian people, Georgia is beginning to return to Russian domination and the Russian model of governing the country. The Russian nightmare, which we thought was part of history after our independence, is returning to haunt us in the 21st century,” she noted.

The fifth President of Georgia went on to say that, today, Georgia is experiencing repression. Innocent people, journalists, actors, students, civil society leaders and political leaders are being dragged to police stations, charged and sentenced on fabricated charges.

“Right now, as I speak here, the trial of one of our famous actors is underway. Regular people are also subject to the repression and lawlessness. They can be sentenced to 11 years for nothing, for peacefully expressing their protest. The government, employing Russian tactics, is using the judicial system and the police as weapons against its own citizens,” Zurabishvili noted.

She also spoke about the case of Mzia Amaglobeli, the founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti, and stated that she was arrested simply for doing her job.

“There is the high-profile case of Ms. Mzia Amaglobeli. This is a respected journalist who was arrested simply for doing her job, covering protests. All the actors and students who joined the peaceful demonstrations have been charged with gang violence. These are not criminals, these are ordinary people who believe in freedom. In today’s Georgia, believing in democracy is enough to put you behind bars. Journalists of a public channel, those who should serve their country and population, are publicly accused by the channel’s governing board of anti-state activities for the opinions they express, which is going to be investigated by the Prosecutor General. 1937, unfortunately, sounds very close,” she noted.

The Lithuanian parliament welcomed Zurabishvili’s address, acknowledging the longstanding and supportive relationship between Lithuania and Georgia. Speaker Saulius Skvernelis noted that hosting former heads of state is customary and aligns with Lithuania’s commitment to the Eastern Partnership and support for Georgia’s European aspirations.

This visit underscores the importance of international solidarity and dialogue in supporting nations striving for democratic integrity and European integration, particularly in the face of external pressures and internal challenges.