On September 18, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze spoke with journalists, addressing the coalition announced by President Salome Zourabichvili between the “Strong Georgia," led by Lelo, and the “For Georgia” party, led by former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia. 

Kobakhidze emphasized that the President’s involvement was unconstitutional and declared that the coalition would have no chance of success if formed. He described Zourabichvili's mediation as a violation of the Constitution, adding, “According to the Constitution, the President must be non-partisan. When, in the system of parliamentary government, the President is directly involved in electoral processes as a side, this is another gross violation of the Constitution. Although we are not surprised by Salome Zourabichvili’s violation of the Constitution. The good thing is that Salome Zourabichvili will not have any influence on the results of the elections in the country.”

When asked about the adoption of the anti-LGBTQ+ legislative package and the criticism it received from the West, Kobakhidze recalled the earlier reactions to the Foreign Agents law. He pointed out that the law was passed by the Georgian Parliament for the sake of “transparency,” which he described as a “basic principle” of the EU. “Now we have passed the second law, which regulates the simplest thing, that a man should be a man and a woman should be a woman, a man should be called a man and a woman should be called a woman, and this is also proclaimed as a Russian law... In the perception of Georgian society, Europe cannot be associated with opacity and LGBT propaganda. This is wrong, it will certainly not fit the image of the European Union in Georgian society,” he stated.

Kobakhidze was also asked about comments made by Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, regarding Georgia apologizing for the August 2008 war. Kobakhidze responded by accusing the opposition of committing treason during the war. He remarked, “The crime these people [the opposition] committed in August 2008 was treason. You know very well what these people have done, and they want to cover up their betrayal with such, so to speak, false statements, but they won’t succeed. The public knows everything about this war, how it started, what happened before, how [ex-President] Saakashvili’s regime consistently took steps towards starting this war, and in the end, what they did on August 7, in fact. Everyone knows everything, this memory does not fade.”

Regarding reconciliation with the occupied territories, Kobakhidze reiterated that there are two theoretical ways to restore Georgia's territorial integrity: war or reconciliation. He argued that those who oppose reconciliation are automatically choosing war, aligning themselves with the “war party.” Kobakhidze stated, “Reconciliation after we have had a fratricidal war in the country can only happen based on mutual forgiveness. This is such a simple axiomatic truth that it can only be challenged by forces based on lies based on violence. This is unacceptable to us.”

In response to US financial sanctions and visa restrictions imposed on 64 Georgian individuals, including two senior officials, Kobakhidze noted that such actions do not facilitate resetting relations between the US and Georgia. He emphasized that relations had been strained over the past four years, particularly due to the actions of the former US Ambassador, but stressed the importance of resetting relations in a “healthy and fair” manner. “Such sanctions, such steps don’t encourage a reset in relations, especially when they are imposed, for example, against high-ranking policemen, people who fought in the August war. This is certainly an extreme insult to our state. This is, naturally, unacceptable to us in principle, and I expressed my concern to the American Ambassador.”

Kobakhidze further warned that if the US continued on this path, Georgia might be forced to discuss— in a principled way— the revision of certain positions. He criticized what he described as a “non-partner attitude” from a state regarded as a strategic partner, calling for rational and just actions to benefit Georgian-American relations. “As for the step taken the day before yesterday, it was aimed precisely at destroying Georgian-American relations, who benefits from it, you can decide for yourself,” Kobakhidze added.

He expressed hope that this would be the last decision leading to the deterioration of relations. He thanked US Ambassador Robin Dunnigan for her constructive attitude, though he lamented that it was insufficient to influence broader decisions. Kobakhidze also suggested that the sanctions might have been imposed without President Joe Biden's knowledge, stating, “Of course, we can all see that Biden does not make such decisions. Unfortunately, there are oligarchic problems [in the US], and the result of these problems is the unjust decisions that are made. I will say again that I am sure that Biden is not even aware of this decision.”