Two types of opposition

Georgia’s Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze says Georgia has two types of opposition, and ‘both of them could not less care about the country’s safety’.

“One part of the opposition is trying to promote Russian provocations, and the other is trying to promote the aims of Russia,” Janelidze said.

The Minister stated that the United National Movement and the European Georgia opposition parties’ consistently criticize the Georgian Dream Government for failing to resist Russia’s occupation without offering any alternative plans, while the Alliance of Patriots’ parliamentary opposition holding meetings in Russia will not serve their aim of “establishing direct dialogue”.

“One part of the opposition is trying to encourage Russian provocations by calling us to return to the policy that they were exercising when they were in power, as a result of which we have the occupied territories, while the other tries to promote the Russian goals, which are to persuade the international community that the problem can be solved through direct dialogue without the engagement of the international community,” Janelidze highlighted.

Janelidze and other government members stated that the main priority of their foreign policy was the de-occupation of Georgia peacefully with the support of international community.

The current Georgian Government’s strategy towards Russia has many drawbacks but alternative plans are limited.

If Georgia aggressively responds to Russia’s occupant actions it could become involved in a war which it would have no hope of winning.

Consequently, there is a risk that Georgia’s situation could become even worse than after 2008, after which it lost 20 percent of its land.

With regards to the Alliance of Patriots’ meetings in Russia with communist and several majority MPs, since the party has only six MPs in the 150-member legislative body of Georgia, the meetings are very likely to be absolutely fruitless.

It is hard to remember even a single example when Russia decided to de-occupy a country through its own goodwill negotiations.

The only thing Georgia left to do is to carry out a very active foreign campaign over the occupation and garner stronger international support.