Georgian Parliament Speaker says governments of Baltic states have only one interest in Georgia - to use country as “weapon, tool” against Russia

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday claimed the governments of the Baltic states had only one interest in Georgia - to use the country as a “weapon and tool” against Russia.

In his remarks, Papuashvili noted that these three post-Soviet countries - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - had their own fears regarding Russia, and instead of confronting these fears and taking action themselves, they were attempting to divert Russia’s attention to other matters through the hands of other nations and peoples.

“The governments of these three countries have only one interest in Georgia - this interest lies in Georgia being a weapon and tool against Russia. These three post-Soviet countries have their own fears regarding Russia, and instead of standing up boldly, facing these fears, they are instead trying to divert Russia's attention to other issues through the hands of other countries, through the hands of other peoples. They have no other interest than for us to be a tool against Russia”, the Speaker said.

Papuashvili further highlighted that recent developments, emphasising that direct involvement from foreign governments in Georgia’s internal affairs had become increasingly apparent.

He pointed out that such actions were previously carried out through organisations like USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy, but now certain governments, particularly former Soviet republics, were taking a more direct role.

“Since the new United States administration changed its stance on interfering in other countries' internal affairs, funding for such activities has been cut. President Trump himself acknowledged in his executive orders that these funds were used for destabilisation. Previously, organisations like USAID and NED operated covertly in matters of regime change, but now we see that certain governments are openly involved, especially three former Soviet republics that are now EU members - the Baltic states. They are directly engaged in efforts to change Georgia’s legitimate government”, Papuashvili concluded.