Irakli Garibashvili on War Blackmail Allegations, Strategic Allies, and Opposition
The prime minister of Georgia addressed the claims of war blackmail, the country's relationships with its strategic allies, and the opposition. Garibashvili confirmed that despite several efforts and provocations, the Georgian Dream (GD) party was able to keep the country out of the conflict [Russo-Ukrainian war].
In response to an inquiry about the Russian occupation of separatist Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, the Prime Minister claimed that not only Bichvinta but all of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali are temporarily occupied. On the contrary, he condemned the previous administration for the loss of the Kodori valley and over a hundred villages during the August 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict.
Concerning the issue of Kelly Degnan, the US Ambassador to Georgia, being confronted by authorities, the Prime Minister responded that he places great importance on relations with strategic partners and will exert the maximum effort to further bolster already-existing ties with the US and Europe. In response to the anti-Western campaign launched by the four MPs who left the ruling party, PM Garibashvili said that Georgia is developing a democratic society where every person, and more so a politician, has the right to raise questions. He said, "This is the standard that our team created."
Regarding the 12 proposals made by the European Commission, PM Garibashvili highlighted that the opposition is not ready to work with the government and that it does not want to obtain the status of a candidate. "We understand very well that their real goal is not the European path of our country. The only thing that motivates them is to return to power through violence, which ended in a fiasco and will always end like this. We are a strong government, and we will not allow anyone to bring chaos into the country," he said. The PM added that the ruling party is ready for constructive dialogue with the opposition but "we have seen that instead of ending polarisation, they are helping to inflame polarisation every day."
Read also:
Georgian Prime Minister's Letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
Prime Minister of Georgia on Tbilisi's Peaceful Strategy and Bidzina Ivanishvili
Garibashvili Expects the NATO Summit to Acknowledge Georgia's Advancement