Parliament Speaker alleges “Russian-style disinformation campaign” to “discredit state” through Saakashvili’s lobbyists

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday alleged a “Russian-style disinformation campaign” was being used to “discredit the Georgian state” and “blackmail” for release of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili from detention.

In a social media post, Papuashvili noted recent disclosures by the United States Department of Justice of activities of Saakashvili’s lobbying team and said they “confirmed that such activities [...] are caused not by natural interest but are premeditated and coordinated”.

“We have clearly seen that the sole purpose of this Russian-style disinformation campaign was to discredit the Georgian state and to achieve, through blackmail, Saakashvili’s release from his legal detention”, Papuashvili said.

Disinformation and other hybrid warfare tactics are some of the challenges against modern democracy and legal statehood. Therefore, our expectation is that everyone who wants to be friends with Georgia should distance themselves from such Russian-style anti-Georgian propaganda”, the chief Georgian legislator noted. 

Papuashvili also said he was “surprised” to see “some active or retired politicians and diplomats be unscrupulous” about their contacts with “Russian-style disinformation-spreading lobbyists”. 

Therefore, the burden of explanation now falls on all those organisations and individuals who, as it turns out from the US Justice Department’s register, have cooperated with - either by giving them media-platforms, by including clauses into resolutions, or by telephone communication - instead of distancing themselves from, the private company that conducted the disinformation campaign”, he continued. 

The Georgian official also added “commitment to values” required the Government to provide “exhaustive answers” to address “legitimate concerns” around the topic.