Georgian Parliament official accuses opposition’s foreign sponsors of seeking to pull Georgia into political war games

Levan Makhashvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on European Integration, on Tuesday accused foreign sponsors and elements of Georgia’s radical opposition of attempting to entangle the country in “political war games”.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Makhashvili argued that Georgia did not pose a problem for the EU but rather contributed to addressing its challenges.

“This is a question we have discussed with our partners multiple times. Given the threats facing the European Union and considering that Georgia is not a problem but, on the contrary, helps the EU address these issues, there is absolutely no reason to exclude, blackmail, or punish Georgia. If Europe has any problems, Georgia is not amongst the top ten. There are wars, economic stagnation, migration issues, organised crime problems, not to mention political and social issues”, Makhashvili said.

“The Baltic countries are engaged in political war games and want to drag Georgia into them. They manipulate our opposition for their own goals and calculations, while it’s clear that they are not genuinely concerned about Georgia or anything else”, he noted.

The official criticised the selective invocation of human rights by these actors, calling it “sometimes laughable” given their inconsistent treatment of different figures.

“References to human rights are sometimes laughable when you see who they roll out the red carpet for one day and who they do it for the next. Society can see whether Europe truly cares about human rights, the rule of law, and democracy. Their main goal is to drag Georgia into political war games, and unfortunately, some representatives of our radical opposition provide them with very good reasons for this”, he concluded.