Prime Minister Criticizes U.S. Sanctions, Opposition, and Civil Society Organizations
By Messenger Staff
Friday, September 20, 2024
On September 18, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze addressed a range of issues with journalists, including recent U.S. sanctions, Georgia's territorial integrity, opposition coalitions, upcoming elections, and civil society organizations.
Commenting on U.S. financial sanctions and visa restrictions imposed on 64 Georgian individuals, including senior officials, Kobakhidze said that "such steps, such decisions do not help to reset relations" between Georgia and the U.S. He emphasized the importance of restoring relations, which have been strained for four years, particularly due to the previous U.S. Ambassador. However, he stated that "resetting relations requires a healthy and fair approach" and that the sanctions "certainly do not encourage" such a reset.
The Prime Minister further called the sanctions "an extreme insult to our state" and described them as "unacceptable." He expressed his concerns to the U.S. Ambassador and warned that if further actions are taken, Georgia would "have to discuss in a principled way the revision of certain positions." He urged for "rational" and "just" actions for the benefit of Georgian-American relations.
Kobakhidze also suggested that the sanctions were an attempt to "destroy Georgian-American relations," questioning who might benefit from such a move. He hoped that this would be the "last decision in the direction of destruction of relations," acknowledging the U.S. Ambassador's "constructive attitude," but regretting that it was not enough to influence the overall decision-making process.
The Prime Minister speculated that the decision to impose sanctions was made without the knowledge of U.S. President Joe Biden, adding, "Of course, we can all see that Biden does not make such decisions." He attributed the decision to "oligarchic problems" in the U.S. and reiterated that "Biden is not even aware of this decision."
Responding to claims of Georgia spreading anti-Western disinformation, Kobakhidze called the sanctions "the real disinformation." He urged against spreading such "unfair statements" about Georgia and dismissed hopes that the sanctions would increase opposition votes in the upcoming elections. "Georgian Dream will win very decisively," he declared, aiming for over 60% of the vote.
Kobakhidze was also asked about Bidzina Ivanishvili's recent statement suggesting that Georgia might apologize for the 2008 August War, a remark that opposition figures have labeled "treacherous." Kobakhidze retorted that the opposition had committed "treason" in August 2008, alleging that they were responsible for the war. He accused them of trying to "cover up their betrayal" with "false statements," but stressed that "the public knows everything about this war."
Addressing the issue of reconciliation with the occupied territories, the Prime Minister stated that there are only two theoretical ways to restore Georgia's territorial integrity: war or reconciliation. He emphasized that those against reconciliation "automatically choose war" and referred to the opposition as the "war party." Kobakhidze underlined that reconciliation could only happen through "mutual forgiveness" after a fratricidal conflict.
When asked about praise from a Russian official regarding Ivanishvili's statement, Kobakhidze dismissed external comments, asserting that "our national interests are the most important for us."
Regarding the recent adoption of anti-LGBT+ legislation, which has been criticized by Western countries, Kobakhidze dismissed these concerns, saying that similar criticism had been made about the Foreign Agents law, which was passed to ensure "transparency." He described the new law as regulating "the simplest thing, that a man should be a man and a woman should be a woman." He rejected the notion that the law was influenced by Russia, stating that it aligned with traditional Christian values, which he argued are central to Europe. "In the perception of Georgian society, Europe cannot be associated with opacity and LGBT propaganda," he said.
Kobakhidze added that Georgia's aspiration to Europe has always been rooted in common Christian traditions, and that "what unites Europe is, first of all, Christian values."
The Prime Minister also criticized a new coalition formed between opposition parties Lelo and For Georgia, a move that was reportedly brokered by President Salome Zurabishvili. He condemned the President's involvement as "unconstitutional," arguing that the President should remain non-partisan. He dismissed the coalition's chances of success and accused Zurabishvili of grossly violating the Constitution by directly involving herself in electoral processes.
Kobakhidze also ridiculed the coalition's leaders, pointing out their previous harsh words against each other, and accused them of being "unprincipled" in their decision to unite. He claimed that this behavior proved they were "working on orders from outside" and described them as "ordinary agents" acting under external influence.
Finally, Kobakhidze addressed claims from the Central Election Commission that local observer NGOs were attempting to "discredit" the upcoming elections. He agreed, stating that this was the last resort of the "radical opposition" and the NGOs associated with it, as Georgian Dream was already poised to win with 60% of the vote.
He reiterated his long-standing critique of NGOs, describing them as "rich organizations" that are "completely externally funded" with political goals aligned with the opposition. Kobakhidze argued that there are no impartial election monitoring organizations in Georgia and that the NGOs involved in observing the elections were merely "political associations" linked to the opposition.
