TBILISI, August 24 – Eight Georgian opposition parties met Saturday to discuss a common vision on national security, with Russia’s presence on the country’s northern border looming large in the debate.
The meeting was the initiative of the small pro-EU Federalists party, and dealt with what kind of defense strategy Georgia needs in light of Moscow’s pressure and unsolved issues regarding breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia. According to Interpressnews, organizers said the aim was to come up with a plan that could reassure citizens about how the country might protect itself in the future.
Some in the opposition argue that genuine security for Georgia is impossible without a change of government in Tbilisi, accusing the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party of blocking the country’s path toward closer integration with the West.
“This regime and Western integration are mutually exclusive. Therefore, if we want to maintain visa-free travel, we must work on changing the regime, isolating it at all levels. I am very sorry that there are opposition parties that are preventing us from doing this,” Tamar Chergoleishvili of the Federalists said at the meeting.
A constitutional amendment that came into force in 2018 states that the country’s leaders are to ‘take all measures within the scope of their competences to ensure the full integration of Georgia into the EU and NATO.’ While GD has pledged to keep the country on track for eventual EU membership, critics argue its actions in recent years have weakened the country’s standing in Brussels and Washington.
