Parliament Speaker: Georgia’s national interest our guiding principle - neither Moscow nor Brussels will derail us

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday reiterated the Georgian Government's commitment to national interests, asserting that Georgia would not be swayed by external pressures.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Papuashvili criticised what he called “years-long efforts” by the radical opposition to create propaganda suggesting that “Georgia is heading somewhere”.

“I want to make one thing clear to everyone: Georgia’s national interests are our starting point, and we will follow them. Neither Moscow, Brussels, Paris, nor any other big capital will be able to divert us from this path”, the Parliament Speaker said.

“To put it simply, Georgia is not “going”anywhere. We are where we’ve been for the last 3 000 years as a state. Various empires, large and small, have come and gone, trying to assert influence over us. Some surrounded us, some tried to dominate us, but they eventually collapsed and disappeared. And we stayed exactly where we’ve always been”, he continued.

He emphasised that Georgia’s primary reference point must always be its own national interest, however, he expressed concern that certain foreign embassies and international groups had influenced segments of the opposition to act against this principle.

“Unfortunately, due to the influence of some embassies and foreign entities, there is now a segment of the opposition - made up of Georgian citizens - who believe they need to find a new master or become servants to someone else. They’re like the Minions from the animated movie - constantly looking for a boss to follow”, he continued.

He accused such groups of seeing foreign powers in binary terms - bad ones and good ones - and of blindly repeating whatever they’re told.

“I’ll say it again - Georgia’s national interests are the foundation for everything we do. Neither Moscow, nor Brussels, nor Paris, nor any other major capital will sway us from this path”, Papuashvili concluded.