TBILISI, April 24 – Leaders of Georgia’s opposition alliance met the British ambassador in Tbilisi on Friday, using the talks to present their political plans.
According to opposition figures, the meeting was part of a broader campaign to explain the alliance’s goals to foreign diplomats and to seek more focused international support as Georgia’s political standoff drags on.
Tamar Chergoleishvili, leader of the Federalists, said the alliance wanted to explain that its task was not only to defeat the current authorities but also to restore public faith in democracy. She said the group would also lay out “what is our path to victory” and “what exactly we ask from the international community on this path.”
Giorgi Baramidze, political secretary of the United National Movement, said the opposition was speaking with all of Georgia’s friends about “how to save Georgia from this Russian band of traitors and criminals,” which he accused of leading the country toward isolation and toward Russia. He added that Britain, like Georgia’s other friends, supports the Georgian people in wanting the country to be “civilized, peaceful, European.”
After the meeting, Gigi Tsereteli, chairman of European Georgia, said the opposition alliance had briefed the ambassador on its plans and described such contacts with diplomats as a normal part of opposition work. He said every diplomat stationed in Georgia should be concerned by the situation in the country.
Tsereteli said the alliance sees the current political system and the policies now being pursued as running against the goals of a large part of Georgian society and against the constitutional direction of the country. He pointed to aspirations for “a Western-type country,” democracy, free elections, no political prisoners, and economic development that does not leave Georgia dependent on Russia.
He also underlined Britain’s weight in Georgian foreign relations, saying the country is “one of Georgia’s very important partners” and supporters, and that this interest was the main basis for the meeting.
