Russia's FM Condemns US Accusations, Denies Russian Interference in Georgia
On November 5, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov commented on accusations of alleged Russian interference in the Georgian elections.
Commenting on claims of Russian interference in the October 26 parliamentary elections, Lavrov described these accusations as an “outright lie,” stating, “The Americans are trying to attribute to us what they themselves are doing.” He added, “Washington continues to actively exploit the self-generated myth of Russian interference in any election, whether ‘at home’ or in third countries. If, as a result of the election results, forces undesirable to the United States win somewhere, Russia is immediately ‘blamed’ for the ‘wrong’ choice of voters.”
Lavrov emphasized that Russia has raised concerns about “the West’s unprecedented interference” in Georgia’s domestic affairs and the “unscrupulous pressure” exerted on Georgian authorities and voters. He also criticized the US and the EU for “artificially trying to present the current electoral process in Georgia as a strategic choice between Russia and the West,” arguing that “they want to put Georgia and other post-Soviet states in front of a false fork in the road.”
Lavrov concluded, "In reality, we are talking about a choice between sovereign development based on national interests and external governance, between traditional values and neoliberal attitudes imposed from outside.”