Georgian PM: “foreign-funded Maidan support” “alarming”, “people have rejected revolution”

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday expressed concerns about what he called “foreign-funded revolution attempts” in the country similar to Ukraine’s Maidan events in 2013-2014, claiming the domestic public had “rejected” the intentions. 

In a press briefing amid ongoing protests against his Government's decision last month to postpone European Union accession talks until 2028, the official highlighted the importance of the controversial law on the transparency of foreign influence, adopted earlier this year, which requires registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.  

When the support of the Maidan scenarios is directly provided with foreign funding, this is certainly alarming. It was precisely because of such facts that we wanted to adopt the law on transparency at the time, which we ultimately adopted”, he said.

The main reason why they opposed the law was precisely this - some people wanted to finance revolutions in this country with hidden money and destabilise the country. The main thing is that the Georgian people once again did not allow either Maidan or revolution in this country”, Kobakhidze asserted, and criticised the domestic “radical opposition” for “harming national interests”. 

We see one thing directly - there is a radical opposition in Georgia whose sole goal is to somehow harm the interests of this country. Accordingly, they are attacking all countries, all politicians who defend the interests of the Georgian people. Their interests are directly in conflict with the interests of the Georgian people”, he added.  

Addressing the opposition’s claims about Russia's influence of Government actions, Kobakhidze accused them of running a campaign that “inadvertently benefits Moscow”.

The radical opposition claims that Russia has been in Georgia from the beginning to the end. Now they claim that Russia has already entered five countries. This is a PR campaign that the radical opposition is actually conducting in favour of Russia”, he alleged.

They claim that Russia has entered everywhere and into everything, not only in Georgia but has already penetrated deeply into the EU”, the PM said, as Hungary and Slovakia on Monday blocked a motion to impose sanctions on Georgian officials for the delay in talks and “violent” dispersal of “peaceful protests”.   

Kobakhidze further argued the allegations reflected the opposition's “desperation”. 

All this indicates that the opposition is desperate today, and they do not know what to do anymore. This is precisely what the attack that these people are carrying out on our European partners is related to”, he claimed.

Highlighting Georgia's “internal stability”, Kobakhidze compared the situation in the country to “political crises” in European states.

Everything is fine in Georgia - the Parliament is working, the Government is working, the [newly elected] President will start working from December 29. Unlike specific European countries, a solid majority has been formed. The situation in Georgia is different from that in Germany and France, where there is a crisis”, he claimed. 

He also alleged “stability is what irritates certain EU officials”, saying 

this is precisely what specific officials in the EU cannot adapt to”..

Kobakhidze also accused the opposition of orchestrating “politically driven rallies”, comparing them to patterns seen during Ukraine's Maidan.

In some cases, the same person is taken to rallies held under different professional names, and such facts are only additional evidence that such performances are party-driven from beginning to end. [...]The exact same scenario was developing during the Ukrainian Maidan and other revolutionary processes. These are some kind of templates that specific external forces work with”, Kobakhidze claimed. 

The PM reiterated his Government was expecting that the “practice of blackmail by specific European politicians and officials”, and “attempts to return” the United National Movement opposition to power, would “finally end” after the inauguration of the new United States President Donald Trump next month.