Ruling party official: Georgia’s pragmatic, balanced policy has no alternative

Levan Machavariani, the First Deputy Chair of the Georgian Dream parliamentary faction, said Georgia’s cautious and pragmatic policy toward Russia was driven by the objective of eventually restoring control over the country’s Russian-occupied territories.
Speaking during a plenary session of Parliament, Machavariani said the government would avoid any actions that could reduce the chances of reclaiming Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region.

“We pursue a very careful and pragmatic policy toward Russia for one reason only - we have temporarily occupied territories that we want to regain. We will not take any step that could reduce that possibility. On the contrary, we will always take steps that make it realistic for us to restore control over Tskhinvali and Abkhazia”, he said.

Machavariani also criticised Georgia’s former government, arguing that what he described as a “chronicle of betrayal” began long before the 2008 Russia-Georgia war.

According to him, decisions made by the previous administration, including policies related to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, military reforms before the war, and actions taken after the conflict, damaged Georgia’s national interests. He accused former authorities of endorsing international assessments that, in his view, provided Russia with a legal justification for its military actions and of transferring strategic assets to companies owned by the Russian state.

The ruling party lawmaker rejected accusations from opposition groups that the current government is too soft on Moscow, saying critics have failed to present evidence against the government’s approach.

Machavariani was responding to criticism from members of the opposition party For Georgia, who have accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of not taking a stronger rhetorical stance against Russia.

Addressing the opposition, he argued that Georgia must avoid actions that could provoke further military aggression from Russia and undermine prospects for the eventual restoration of territorial integrity.

“If you believe that the temporarily occupied territories can be returned, then you should not take steps that reduce that chance. If you know that Russia is an aggressor and only needs a pretext to launch another military aggression, why would you provide such a pretext?” Machavariani said.

He described the government’s policy as pragmatic, cautious, measured, flexible, and balanced, calling it the only viable approach under current geopolitical circumstances.

“We are obliged to do everything possible to regain our temporarily occupied territories. We do not have the right to act on emotions or make statements that could reduce that possibility. Nor do we have the right to increase risks for our citizens. Therefore, our pragmatic, careful, measured, flexible, and balanced policy has no alternative”, Machavariani said.