Ruling party official says Georgian Dream open to dialogue with EU, provided Georgia’s interests are respected

Irakli Kirtskhalia, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party’s parliamentary faction, said on Thursday that “Eurocrats” supported what he described as an agent network in Georgia and their own so-called opposition.

Speaking to Imedi TV, Kirtskhalia claimed that European bureaucrats were engaging with this network and people he said had been misled by it through lies and false perceptions allegedly instigated by the same officials.

“Eurocrats in our country support an agent network, their own so-called opposition. Within the Brussels elite today, democracy functions in reverse. For the likes of [Roberta] Metsola, [Kaja] Kallas and [Marta] Kos, democracy apparently means the rule of a minority over the majority. They engage with this agent network, as well as with people who have been misled by these very agents and by lies and false perceptions instigated by the bureaucrats themselves”, Kirtskhalia said.

He added that the ruling team was ready to engage in dialogue with European officials, provided that Georgia’s interests were taken into account.

“We will speak with them or with any high-level political representative. We have always stated that we are ready and open to dialogue, partnership and cooperation, provided that our interests are taken into account. We cannot be your vassals”, Kirtskhalia noted.

“We are ready, but we know the cost of our history. Our public knows the value of independence and freedom, and it knows the value of peace. With this in mind, we are, of course, engaging in dialogue”, he concluded.