Georgian Parliament official accuses domestic opposition of putting external agendas above national interests

Davit Matikashvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on Procedural Issues and Rules, on Wednesday said the domestic opposition’s refusal to answer the questions raised by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze in his letter on what he described as artificial Russophobia demonstrated that Georgia was not their primary concern, and that they were instead focused on carrying out instructions received from external actors.

“The Prime Minister of Georgia reminded the radical and proxy opposition, with utmost precision, of the anti-Georgian and anti-national actions they carried out before the outbreak of the [2008] war, as well as the significant role this agent network played in the beginning of the conflict”, Matikashvili said.

“These are rootless people. Georgia means nothing to them. The only thing that matters to them is the assignments they receive, regardless of whether Georgia could end up in a very difficult situation. What matters to them is that the assignment is fulfilled”, he concluded.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday said that political parties, affiliated non-governmental organisations and their supporters, whom he described as a foreign-controlled “agent network” united into a single radical force, did not object to Russia’s aggression between 2008 and 2012, arguing that their current anti-Russian rhetoric emerged only after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In a social media message, Kobakhidze claimed these groups had repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to advancing external interests in Georgia.