Georgian Parliament Speaker: Ivanishvili’s foresight helped prevent Georgia from being drawn into 2022 war

The fact that Georgia was not drawn into a renewed military confrontation with Russia in 2022 was, among other things, the result of Bidzina Ivanishvili’s ability to foresee developments, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said on Wednesday.

Papuashvili said that what later became clear to many had been evident to the ruling political team from the outset, with every member of the team standing on the “virtual front line” to prevent a military conflict.

“The political team of Georgian Dream, which has been in power for 14 years and is led by Bidzina Ivanishvili, has demonstrated one thing: every political step is taken first and foremost in Georgia’s interests and is based on judgment, analysis and rational decision-making. This is precisely the main standard established by Bidzina Ivanishvili”, he said.

“The fact that they failed to draw Georgia into a renewed military confrontation with Russia in 2022 was, among other things, the result of this approach and Bidzina Ivanishvili’s ability to foresee developments. What later became clear to many was evident to the political team from the very beginning, and every member of the political team stood on the virtual front line to prevent a military conflict”, Papuashvili continued.

The Speaker also said that then-Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili had played an important role in preventing such a scenario.

“Of course, the Prime Minister has a particularly important role in this regard, because he sets the tone for the executive branch, especially when it comes to fundamental issues. You remember how the attacks against Georgia began publicly. There had been discussions behind the scenes before that, and then they came out into the open. It started with Georgia refusing to impose bilateral sanctions on Russia”, he said.

“Today, everyone knows that had Georgia become involved in this escalation, it would have been drawn into a military conflict, and we would have ended up with a devastated country and a devastated economy. Everyone knows this today. And back then, NGOs were organizing rallies, saying, ‘we would rather see bombs falling than endure the shame of not imposing sanctions on the Russians,’ as Ms. Lomjaria put it”, Papuashvili concluded.