Georgian Parliament Speaker: no organisation membership worth risking Georgia’s territorial integrity and well-being

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday said the Government’s two primary national objectives were restoring the country’s territorial integrity and improving the well-being of its citizens, adding that all other policy goals should be subordinate to these priorities.

Speaking on the Georgian Public Broadcaster’s programme Discussion on Topical Issues, Papuashvili said the two objectives provided a clear framework for evaluating government decisions.

“We have two main national objectives - the reunification of our country and increasing the well-being of our people. When these are the two goals, it becomes very easy to assess any step. Someone may tell you that you should enter into an escalation with Russia, but you have to determine whether that would contribute to the well-being of our nation. If we close our borders and economic exchanges with Russia, it will not contribute to improving the well-being of our people”, he said.

Papuashvili recalled that when the war in Ukraine began four and a half years ago, Georgia faced calls to impose sanctions on Russia and become involved in an escalation. He argued that such a course of action would have led to an “economic catastrophe” for Georgia, adding that this had since been acknowledged by all sides.

He said the restoration of Georgia’s territorial integrity remained the country’s second major objective and that keeping this priority in mind helped guide policy decisions.

“I want to emphasise once again and make it clear to everyone - both our friends and our enemies - that these are our two main objectives, and all other goals are subordinate to them”, Papuashvili said.

“There is no goal more important than the reunification of our country and the improvement of our people’s well-being. No membership in any organisation, and no effort to gain anyone else’s goodwill, is worth putting our nation’s territorial integrity and well-being at risk”, he concluded.