Prepared by Messenger Staff
Botchorishvili Says Georgia's Foreign Influence Measures Reflect Council of Europe Direction
Georgian Dream Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili stated that Georgia's recent legislative changes align with the direction in which the Council of Europe is working to limit foreign influence, and that Tbilisi is prepared to share its experience with other countries.
"The legislative changes and initiatives that Georgia is implementing are aimed precisely at the direction in which the Council of Europe is thinking and working," Botchorishvili said, adding that Georgia already has "extensive experience" in this area that it can offer to partners.
Botchorishvili said that Georgia's approach has drawn criticism but argued that the issue of foreign interference is not unique to Georgia. "Foreign interference and foreign influences are a problem for many countries. This is not new," she said. According to Botchorishvili, what differs is the level of recognition of the problem, noting that Georgia has faced what she described as a "rather harsh attitude" toward its efforts to address it.
Botchorishvili added that the authorities would continue to engage with the Council of Europe to explain their position. "We will continue to work within the framework of the Council of Europe so that our experience is understood more correctly than it has been by certain actors so far," she said.
Zourabichvili: Georgia Cannot Survive as an Independent State Without an Independent State University
Georgia's fifth president, Salome Zourabichvili, said the country cannot survive as an independent state without a university that serves as a center of free and critical thinking, calling Georgian State University a symbol that must be protected.
In a video address on February 8, the anniversary of the university's founding, Zourabichvili said the institution has been inseparable from Georgia's struggle for independence since its establishment in 1918.
"On February 8, 1918, the Georgian State University was founded. This was not just the creation of a university, it was the first step toward independence," she said. "Georgia's state independence begins with two things: the declaration of autocephaly and the founding of the university."
Zourabichvili recalled that the university emerged from years of work by the Society for the Spreading of Literacy, which sought to restore Georgian national education after imperial Russification policies. She said the efforts of intellectuals at the time laid the foundation for an institution that remains central to Georgia's future.
"Without an independent university, without a university that remains a hub of free and critical thinking, the state cannot exist independently," she said. "The state needs free thought and the education of a new generation on free foundations, and the symbol of all this, which we must protect, is the Georgian State University."
She added that the university represents the values of a European and independent Georgia, calling its preservation essential for the country's long-term development.
