Georgia’s ruling party official: opposition seeks to keep Georgia vulnerable and easier to control

Irakli Kirtskhalia, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party’s parliamentary faction, on Sunday accused opposition figures of pursuing policies that, in his view, would leave Georgia vulnerable and easier to influence, linking his criticism to their statements on Abkhazia and the Government’s peace policy.|

In his remarks, Kirtskhalia accused opposition leaders of acting on external instructions and criticised their response to the Government’s efforts to promote peace and improve relations.

“Gvaramia, Saakashvili, Baramidze and their associates, this network of agents, are agents precisely for this reason. It was for statements like these that our society quite rightly called them the Union of the Stateless. They are simply Georgians by documents and passports, but they have no homeland, because when you know your homeland, when you understand its pain and genuinely care about it, you would not make statements like these”, he said.

The official noted that opposition figures had reacted negatively to steps aimed at improving relations and advancing Georgia’s peace policy.

“Also, we should not forget that these are not their own statements. Unfortunately, these are instructed statements that they voice. We should not be surprised when we talk about peace, and whenever even a small step is taken toward improving relations - whether economically or in terms of humanitarian assistance - they immediately react”, he said.

He also referred to the 2008 Russia-Georgia war and subsequent developments in Ukraine, arguing that opposition figures had failed to support the Government’s approach to maintaining peace in Georgia.

“Where were the people who were dreaming about this country in 2008? Where were they in 2008? We saw what they did and how they behaved; they directly committed an act of treason against the country. Then, following the developments in Ukraine and the bloody war - I mean the events that began in 2022 and continue to this day - we saw them gathered on Rustaveli Avenue and elsewhere, along with those behind them, openly expressing how, supposedly, they were ashamed that there was peace in Georgia”, Kirtskhalia stressed.

Kirtskhalia further questioned how opposition groups could criticise Georgia’s pursuit of a peaceful policy amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“How could they, and how can they, even imagine that while there is such bloodshed in Ukraine, with fire and war raging there, we are pursuing a peaceful policy? This is their true face. They are the party of war, they are a force of destruction, and they are a force determined to keep our country vulnerable at all times, because a vulnerable country is much easier to control”, he concluded.