GEORGIA-RUSSIA Garibashvili, Moscow and the new tensions due to the accession of Tbilisi to the EU

At the Bratislava Security Forum, the Prime Minister, belonging to Georgian Dream, supported the Kremlin’s thesis on the war in Ukraine, exacerbating political tensions in his country. The electoral campaign for the 2024 parliamentary elections is shaping up to be a crucial turning point in the confrontation between Russia and the West.

Tbilisi () – Political tensions in Georgia have escalated enormously in recent days due to statements by Prime Minister Iraklij Garibashvili, a member of the Georgian Dream majority, this time in Bratislava, at the Global Security Forum. Garibashvili claimed that the cause of the Russian invasion was Kiev’s intention to join NATO, a statement that many Georgian and European observers say would indicate that the Tbilisi authorities are one step away from refusing to join the European Union.

In recent times the prime minister’s trips to international meetings have been like walking through a minefield. Garibashvili constantly reminds that the war in Georgia had broken out before Ukraine, that “nobody helped this small country” and now they want sanctions against Russia and the opening of a second front, constantly reigniting the already sharply polarized debate in Georgian politics. This time the Prime Minister’s words had the effect of exploding one of those mines when he referred to NATO’s guilt, “the extent of which is well known to everyone”, insisting on making clarifications that seemed to be dictated by the Kremlin.

For the rest, Garibashvili has also repeated the litany of recent months about the fact that the founder of his party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, “is not an oligarch, but a patron who saved Georgia from the Saakashvili dictatorship and his National Movement ”. Thanks to Georgian Dream, the country is now staying away from war, getting richer, and keeping peace and stability thanks to the efforts of the government, which wants to “achieve de-occupation with peaceful methods.”

Because in Georgia, according to Garibashvili, “a miracle has happened, we have set a precedent that should be an example for everyone, on how not to be destroyed by turbulence and survive in a small country, which is not a member of NATO although it wants to join Europe, but you have to know how to find your way around.” He then promised that by June the Tbilisi government would comply with the 12 EU demands, except, obviously, the first, which is the depolarization of national politics.

The intolerance of the opposition was also clearly demonstrated by Shota Gvinirija, former Georgian ambassador to the Netherlands and current collaborator at the Center for Economic Policy Research, who addressed the Prime Minister with a question at the Bratislava Forum about the possible consequences for Georgia of a Russian defeat, “considering the course of war operations.” Instead of answering the question, Garibashvili lashed out at him: “He is an opponent, the parody of an opponent, who flew from Tbilisi to Bratislava just to provoke me with a question.” In his opinion, the opposition should support the government, which “does everything possible to bring the country closer to Europe and defends national interests.”

A French journalist then addressed the prime minister and observed that “you have just given us an example of polarization, can you better explain why they cannot agree?” Opponents later described Garibashvili’s reaction as a form of “blackmail and pretense”: “If you want to avoid these scenes at the next Global Forum you must give us EU candidate status, and when you give us status you will see how the fight ends! polarization!” The entire official Georgian delegation stood up to thunderous applause.

The consequence of these statements in Slovakia was new and bitter verbal confrontations in the Tbilisi Parliament, with opposition deputies accusing the prime minister of having become “a propagandist for the Kremlin”. The independent deputy Khatia Dekanonidze invited the leaders of the Georgian Dream to come to their senses: “Garibashvili’s speeches are identical to Moscow’s theses, and there is no need to give the Russians more reasons to attack sovereign countries… The NATO and the EU’s refusal condemns us to negotiate with Russia to return the occupied territories, and will end up subjecting Georgia to the Kremlin dictatorship”.

Many other interventions once again made it clear that the campaign for the 2024 parliamentary elections will be a continuous escalation of accusations between the parties, and that the fate of Georgia will be decisive in the global confrontation between Russia and the West.

Photo: Elekes Andor/Wikimedia Commons