Georgia’s ruling party official questions opposition leader Nika Gvaramia voters after controversial Abkhazia remarks

Levan Machavariani, the First Deputy Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party faction in the Parliament, on Monday criticised opposition leader Nika Gvaramia over remarks he made regarding Abkhazia and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Machavariani’s remarks came after Gvaramia has argued that nations must overcome historical traumas in order to move forward and develop, warning that traumatic memories can act as an obstacle to progress. Discussing the war in Abkhazia and broader regional issues, Gvaramia expressed admiration for Pashinyan, whom he credited with overcoming historical traumas in a short period of time.

According to Machavariani, Gvaramia expressed admiration for Pashinyan's decision to overcome what he described as “historical traumas” and to relinquish Nagorno-Karabakh. In response, the Georgian Dream lawmaker questioned whether the voters who supported Gvaramia in the 2024 parliamentary elections feel ashamed of their choice following the statement.

“Let me remind you that 230,000 of our fellow citizens voted for this unpatriotic agent in the 2024 parliamentary elections. Aren’t you ashamed, even a little?” he said.

He also referred to comments Gvaramia made a month earlier regarding Ukraine.

“I would also remind you that this rootless agent was speaking with great sadness a month ago about the fact that a devastated Ukraine would receive large financial tranches for reconstruction, while Georgia would be left without that money because it has peace”, Machavariani noted.