The FINANCIAL — Georgian high profile officials refused to meet Speakers of the factions of the Foreign Relations Committee of the German Bundestag, who are visiting Georgia.
“Citizens of Georgia and meeting with them is always a priority”, commented Nikoloz Samkharadze, the chairman of the foreign relations committee. He told the IPN agency that the Chairman of the Parliament is conducting meetings with voters in Georgian regions.
“Shalva Papuashvili is in Imereti, I met the representatives of the Bundestag on behalf of the majority”, Samkharadze said.
In May 2024, Chairman of the Ruling party refused to meet U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jim O’Brien. According to the Prime Minister, the issue of “sanctions” is at the heart of the problem.
“Bidzina Ivanishvili said that he was already under de facto sanctions because he had frozen 2 billion [U.S.] dollars that he had entrusted to the West, but which turned up in the hands of the Global War Party.”
“As soon as this blackmail and de facto sanctions end, any meeting can be held right away, but today, this is Bidzina Ivanishvili’s position on this topic. Therefore, just as such blackmail and threats did not fly since March 2022, when his funds were frozen after the war in Ukraine, neither will such blackmail and threats fly now,”Kobakhidze explained.
The current course of the Georgian government is blocking Georgia’s path to the European Union – if this course continues, the German Bundestag will not be able to support the start of EU accession negotiations– mentioned in the joint statement of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag.
The statement says that the October 26 parliamentary elections are a crucial moment for Georgia’s democratic future and “the international community will closely monitor the election process.”
“The vast majority of the population of Georgia wants Georgia to become a member of the European Union. In Article 78 of the Constitution of Georgia, joining the European Union is even recorded as a state goal. Recent authoritarian tendencies and undemocratic measures undermine this democratic will. The current course of the government is blocking Georgia’s path to the European Union. If this course continues, the German Bundestag will not be able to support the start of EU accession negotiations.
The German Bundestag will not be able to support the start of EU accession negotiations with Georgia.
“The commitment of Georgian civil society to democracy, human rights and the rule of law is exemplary in the region. The work of non-governmental organizations is essential for the democratic process. We firmly stand by the civil society of Georgia’, written in a joint statement of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag.
Recent developments in Georgia, such as the adoption of the so-called Foreign Influence Transparency Act threatens fundamental freedoms and weakens civil society. A strong, independent civil society is critical to democratic development. We call on the Government of Georgia to stop any measures that limit the rights of minorities, freedom of the press and political opposition.The parliamentary elections of October 26, 2024 are a crucial moment for the democratic future of Georgia. Free and fair elections are the foundation of all democracies. The international community will closely monitor the election process. We welcome the invitation of international observers and call on everyone to create a non-violent and fair election environment.
As representatives of the Foreign Relations Committee, we firmly stand by the people of Georgia, the majority of whom want to join the European Union. “Strengthening human rights and rule of law is not only crucial for the future of Georgia, but it will send a clear signal to the international community that democracy and rule of law are the foundations of a free society,” the statement said.
In his September 6 interview with Russian media outlet RBK, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov defended the adoption of the Foreign Agents law by Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party, and repeated the Georgian Government’s narrative that the U.S., Poland, France and “many other countries” have much stricter such laws. He also accused the West of imposing “LGBT agenda” on Georgia, and talked about the developments in occupied Abkhazia.
The United States Senator Jeanne Shaheen in interview with the National Journal recalled the meeting with Georgian Prime Minister, where the conversation centered around the U.S.-Georgian “deteriorating” relations and the “unwillingness of the Georgian Dream government to address the concerns that have been expressed,” PM Kobakhidze conveyed the request to the U.S. side “to stop funding all civil society organizations that might be critical of the Georgian Dream government.” She stressed the US side’s message to Kobakhidze was that democracy “is not about shutting down dissent and disagreement. It’s about recognizing that there will be criticism of what you do.” That’s part of what a democracy is about.”
Senator Shaheen noted: “It’s even more distressing to see that since our visit, the government is talking about disbanding all opposition parties. They’re basically talking about becoming an autocracy. They want to be a dictatorship, not a democracy.”
Some think that rejection of NATO’s members to give membership road to Georgia resulted changing political orientation of official Tbilisi
It has been more than a decade since Georgia was promised eventual membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) at the 2008 Bucharest Summit. Russia invaded Georgia later that year and continues to occupy two regions – Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region (more commonly known as South Ossetia). Russian bases are stationed 30 km from Capital Tbilisi, that makes Georgian government feel unprotected from future escalation. Security situation became worsened after Russian invasion of Ukraine and the new war with Russian became realistic again.
Ending Russia’s veto over Georgia’s NATO membership without triggering a war or Georgia loosing territorial integrity requires creative political will.
After years of economic, governance, and military reforms, this partial occupation remains the primary roadblock to meaningful progress on Georgia’s NATO aspirations. Other NATO members do not want to risk a confrontation with Russia by inviting Georgia to join the alliance.
Russia has perfected a formula to block the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of its neighbors: invasion and partial occupation. Moscow applied this formula to Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014 on the eve of that country signing an Association Agreement with the European Union (EU). Moldova shares a similar situation over Transnistria.
“The United States should push for Georgia’s membership by temporarily amending Article 6 of the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty, replacing the current Membership Action Plan process with something more applicable to the geopolitical circumstances of the remaining candidate countries, and working closely with NATO allies in Central and Eastern Europe to build a coalition of support for such moves. Doing this will require political will and strong leadership from the United States, Europe, and Georgia”, Luke Coffey, Former Director, Allison Center for Foreign Policy and James Carafano, Senior Counselor to the President wrote in Georgia report.
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