Georgian Parliament Speaker highlights Gov’t’s focus on national interests

Georgian Parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday said every country must look after its own interests, emphasising that Brussels does not act in Georgia’s favour out of goodwill.

In his remarks, Papuashvili criticised foreign interference in Georgia, describing it as a challenge that only those funded from abroad would deny - people who, according to him, act against their own country.

“Everyone has their own interests. Do not think that Brussels wakes up and goes to sleep thinking of us. Everyone must look after their own interests, and the Georgian government takes care of ours”, the speaker said.

“Foreign interference is a challenge. In today’s world, interference and the creation of fifth columns in other countries are weapons used to exert influence, and everyone recognizes this. The only ones who deny it are those who themselves are part of the fifth column in Georgia, funded to harm their own country”, he continued.

Papuashvili further added that “four years have passed since the start of the war in Ukraine, and four years ago, foreign-funded NGOs and parties, following this exact scheme of a fifth column, stood in front of Parliament demanding that we enter the war, send fighters to Ukraine, impose sanctions, close our airspace, and escalate a conflict that could inevitably lead to war”.

“This is what the foreign-funded fifth column did. They are fought against in their own countries, but here they are supported so that at critical moments they can betray their own country, push us into war, undermine democracy, and block recognition of elections and democratic processes”, he said.

“Everyone has their own interests. Don’t think that Brussels acts in our favor or that Ms. [Kaja] Kallas who pursued a hostile policy toward Georgia while serving as Prime Minister in Estonia, has changed her views. Everyone must take care of their own interests, and the Georgian Government takes care of ours”, Papuashvili concluded.