Georgian Parliament official says opposition guided by interests of foreign patrons

Tornike Paghava, the Deputy Chair of the Committee on European Integration of the Georgian Parliament, on Tuesday commented on Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s letter, arguing that the opposition’s stance has consistently been shaped by the interests of its foreign patrons rather than Georgia’s national interests.

In his remarks, Paghava noted that the opposition changed its stance toward Russia following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine because the priorities of its foreign backers shifted toward confrontation with Moscow.

“The Prime Minister published a very interesting and comprehensive letter. The most important point raised at the end of the letter was why the then-government and today’s opposition acted as they did after the 2008 war. Why was the Georgian economy open to Russian investment? Why did the previous government sell strategic assets to the Russian government? Why was Russian money not considered problematic at the time? And why did the former authorities suddenly transform into an anti-Russian political force after Ukraine was attacked?”, he said.

Paghava added that when their patrons pursued a policy of resetting relations with Russia and sought good-neighborly ties, the then-government ignored Georgia’s national interests and instead supported the interests of those patrons.

“Today, when their patrons seek confrontation with Russia and military escalation, they once again reject what should be their own country’s national interests. They disregard Georgia’s existential interests and support escalation and military confrontation with Russia. This once again demonstrates that Georgia’s national interests mean nothing to them. Their main guiding principle is the interests of their foreign patrons”, he concluded.