Georgian government denies resuming regular traffic with Russian port, yet admitting two shipments in April
Tbilisi-DFWatch-The government of Georgia, which has been increasingly becoming the target of accusations of circumventing the sanctions imposed on Russia, had to make another denial on Monday. This time it has to repudiate information spread by Armenian media about the restoration of regular sea traffic with the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. The Maritime Transport Agency of Georgia confirms that two shipments were carried [...]
Six opposition parties in Georgia release statement claiming GD government collaborating with Putin’s Russia
The opposition parties of Georgia issue a joint statement speaking out about the threat of government shifting foreign political priorities and accuse the ruling power, Georgian Dream, of being a collaborator with the Putin regime [...]
News
Georgian PM speaks about “Ukrainization” conspiracy, claims to have saved the country from war
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, whom the opposition and Western politicians often accuse of populist rhetoric, said during his speech in the parliament Friday that government saved the country from "Ukrainization“, and reiterated the narrative of [...]
Amid hysteria over “second front”, Abkhaz militia kicks off drills in Gali
The pro-EU protests in Tbilisi, which forced the government to kill the highly controversial bill on “foreign agents”, have triggered a natural hysteria in occupied Abkhazia, where the narrative has stubbornly been spread as if [...]
The opposition sets up united front to mobilize pro-Western forces against foreign agents’ bill
The moment of expulsion of opposition MPs from Legal Affairs Committee hearing. The opposition is creating a coordination council to resist the adoption of controversial bill on “foreign (influence) agents” by the ruling Georgian Dream, [...]
Parliament starts amid protests discussing “Russian law”, which many believe will drag Georgia to Putin’s embrace
(IPN) Verbal and physical confrontation followed the start of consideration of the anti-Western bill initiated by a political group close to the ruling Georgian Dream in the parliament on Thursday. The opposition urged supporters to [...]
Saakashvili’s health has deteriorated, the process will become irreversible in 1-2 months: Council of Doctors
Mikheil Saakashvili's health condition has worsened and if the current trend continues, irreversible processes will start in 1-2 months, states the Council of Doctors set by the Public Defender. “The patient has entered the phase [...]
Joe Biden nominates Robin Dunnigan as a new US ambassador to Georgia
President Joe Biden has announced his intent to nominate Robin Dunnigan as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Georgia. Robin Dunnigan is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, and [...]
If Saakashvili’s weight drops below 52 kg, he may die, doctor says
If Saakashvili's weight drops below 52 kg, his body will not be able to withstand and he will die, said neurologist who is a member of a medical concilium at the office of Public Defender [...]
Lawyer says Saakashvili’s health worsened and has never seen him so weak
Mikheil Saakashvili's condition has worsened so much that he is being taken to intensive care unit, his lawyer said on Tuesday, although later the director of the hospital, where the third president of Georgia is [...]
Far-right pro-Russian party disrupts lecture of popular Georgian liberal literary critic
Alt-Info activists gathered in Kvareli in front of car with Levan Berdzenishvili in the front seat. (Nika Gurini/Facebook.) Georgian far-right pro-Russian political party Alt-Info, which is the organizer of July 5 pogroms in 2021, against [...]
From Ambassador notes: Tedo Japaridze’s interview with Zuhdi Janbek, a Jordanian general with the Circassian origin
Zuhdi Janbek is a prominent Jordanian statesman, politician and public figure. He held different high-level positions in the Jordanian hierarchy throughout his outstanding career, among them the post of the President of Circassian Charity Association [...]
Europe and Georgia
PACE to discuss dismissing its president in October
PACE President Pedro Agramunt. (Council of Europe.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will discuss a proposal to dismiss its chairperson in early October after a motion was tabled on Friday. The motion to dismiss PACE President Pedro Agramunt was backed by 158 out of the 636 member […]
Opinion
Minorities
New survey points to increasingly positive attitudes in Georgia toward minorities, LGBT+ individuals
(DFWatch) TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgians are increasingly positive about minorities, including LGBT+ people, according to the new survey commissioned by The Council of Europe Office in Georgia, which covers a period between 2018 and 2021. [...]
NGO News
GD and far-right Conservative Movement lead: TI report on party donations
The Conservative Movement, a far-right pro-Russian political party notorious for violence against LGBTQ activists and journalists, was second only to the ruling Georgian Dream in the last quarter of 2022 [...]
Civic groups in Georgia campaign to help Ukrainian refugees left out in the street
(Razom.ge) Georgian civic groups and activists have launched a fundraising campaign to provide temporary housing for Ukrainian refugees who were left out in the street after the end of state [...]
Georgian NGOs express concern over oil spill off Russia’s Black Sea coast
(Photo: Instagram / _svetlana__radionova_) TBILISI, DFWatch--Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum Georgian National Platform, a coalition of more than 200 non-governmental organizations, expresses concern over an oil spill off Russia’s Black [...]