Shalva Papuashvili Claims Saakashvili Corrupted Politicians for Lobbying Against Georgia

On November 30, Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, stated that the disclosures made by US-based companies to the nation's Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act had shed light on the extent of political corruption against Georgia by lobbyists employed by the ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili.  

Papuashvili asserted that the outcome of the lobbyists' activity was evident as they directly wrote the texts of resolutions for some MEPs, pointing to the alleged manipulation of EP resolutions. "By adopting these papers, the European Parliament essentially approved of the false information created by lobbyists. The Parliament official referred to the endeavor as typical political corruption and mentioned the lobbyists' purported contact with representatives of various embassies in Georgia," the speaker noted. "Unfortunately, this topic remains opaque in the EU space, but thanks to US legislation, we occasionally obtain such crucial information," he said. 

In response to a December 9 march organized by a portion of domestic non-governmental organizations to demonstrate public unity before the European Council decides whether to grant Tbilisi candidate status for EU membership, the official charged elite NGOs with working against the result. He mentioned that the organizers would probably buy flags and whistles and drink coffee while making a PowerPoint presentation showing their love for Georgia and Europe. In the end, he claimed, "The activities amounted to a waste of foreign grants, an undermining of national interests, and a negative perception of Georgia's use of foreign aid."

He asserted that unidentified NGOs had interfered with the county's election of a new public defender earlier this year in an attempt to postpone the fulfillment of one of the twelve requirements for Georgia's candidatures in the EU, incite conflict over the replacement of the government, and make demands against the bloc for awarding Tbilisi the status until Saakashvili is moved from domestic detention to treatment abroad. 

Notably, the US law firm Akerman's revelation of papers took place in July, which revealed the company was drafting a resolution for the European Parliament that criticized the Georgian government over Saakashvili's detention. It revealed the organization's work preparing stories for foreign media on Saakashvili's health and influencing US senators and UK authorities to impose sanctions on Georgia due to his claimed mistreatment while in custody. The same company revealed in February that it had collected $917,177 from Saakashvili's family to influence US government representatives to assist in the former official's release.

Shalva Papuashvili: "Imposing Sanctions on Russia Is Shooting Oneself in the Foot"

Recently, Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled broadcaster RT, said that Georgia behaves surprisingly adequately about sanctions.

Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, responded to Simonyan's recent remarks by saying that imposing sanctions on Russia is shooting oneself in the foot, and everyone - citizens of Georgia and foreign partners - knows it. "So, it doesn't matter who confirms this truth," he added.

When journalists asked what it meant for the Georgian government when representatives of the Russian government and propagandists praised them, Papuashvili said that only the opinion of the citizens of Georgia was decisive for the ruling power. "The main thing for us is to be praised by the citizens of Georgia, and we feel this praise and support from the citizens of Georgia since we act in their interests. As for what the truth is, and who will confirm this truth - is this important? If any representative of Russia says today that the sun rises in the east, should we say that it doesn't? Shall we oppose? Imposing sanctions on Russia is shooting oneself in the foot; everyone - citizens of Georgia, foreign partners - knows it. So, it doesn't matter who confirms this truth; the main thing is that it is the truth, and the population of Georgia supports it," the Georgian official noted.

"We are working to be praised by Georgian people and to make Georgian people happy. What others say is not important to us. That is why we do not react when we are unfairly criticized; whoever it is, we don't react when our ill-wishers praise us. It doesn't matter to us; the main determinant for us is what the citizens of Georgia think, what they criticize, and what they like," Papuashvili concluded.