Georgian Parliament official accuses United National Movement party of advancing Russian interests while in power

Nikololoz Samkharadze, the Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Georgian Parliament, on Wednesday dismissed claims that the opposition United National Movement party is anti-Russian, describing the party’s alleged Russophobia as a “fabricated story”.

Speaking to Georgia’s Public Broadcasting, Samkharadze argued that while in government, the UNM had pursued policies that served Russian interests in Georgia.

“The UNM’s Russophobia is a fabricated story. They are not anti-Russian in any way”, Samkharadze said.

According to the ruling party lawmaker, the opposition’s record in power contradicts its current criticism of Russia. He claimed that strategic assets had been sold to Russian companies and noted that Georgia lifted visa requirements for Russian citizens shortly after the 2008 war.

Samkharadze also alleged that senior officials welcomed Russian tourists at the Larsi border crossing and said a number of the party’s representatives had worked in Russia. He further claimed that several figures in the cultural sphere associated with the former government continued to perform and hold concerts in Russia after the 2008 conflict.

“Their current propaganda is cheap and low-grade because nobody forgets what they were doing before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”, he said.

The Committee Chair also criticised what he described as selective outrage toward Russia, arguing that some politicians became vocal critics of Moscow only after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine while previously overlooking Russia’s occupation of Georgian territories.

“If you consider the suffering of your fellow citizens to be less of a tragedy than that of Ukrainians, then you should not speak about morality and ethics”, Samkharadze stated.