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Kobakhidze Thanks U.S. Intelligence Chief While Shrugging Off “Pro-Russian” Allegations

Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze shrugged off allegations of the ruling party and its founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, being “pro-Russian,” while thanking Tulsi Gabbard, Director of U.S. National Intelligence, for “exposing deep state.”

Kobakhidze’s July 21 remarks came in response to Gabbard’s recent statement alleging a “conspiracy” by Barack Obama administration to subvert Donald Trump’s victory in 2016, including through claims about Russian interference in the U.S. elections, as well as accompanying “Russia Hoax” memo alleging “Deep State officials” leaking false information to media in 2016.

Seizing on Gabbard’s claims, Kobakhidze argued that “labeling opponents as pro-Russian is a well-worn tactic of the ‘deep state’ in various countries,” accusing the media of acting as its instrument in shaping such portrayals. He cited French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, Romanian presidential candidate George Simion, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as examples, before arguing that Georgian Dream and its founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, have been subjected to similar allegations.

“Labeling our government as pro-Russian has only one reason – we are not following foreign orders, we have cleared all branches of government of agents, we defend sovereignty, we have not allowed LGBT propaganda, and we have not engaged in war,” Kobakhidze said in the statement, adding that “nobody bothered to present us with any evidence of being pro-Russian.”

“The deep state’s strong propaganda line works against the ruling party’s founder, Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili,” Kobakhidze added. Although we have heard accusations for years that Bidzina Ivanishvili is pro-Russian and has Russian ties, no one has presented a shred of evidence to confirm this.”

“We are dealing with Goebbels-style propaganda methods,” he added, referring to the chief propagandist of Nazi Germany (1933-1945). “An enemy icon is created first, and then opponents are accused of ties to it. Such propaganda needs no facts – what matters is that the message is total and repeated by as many agents as possible.”

“Tulsi Gabbard also said that a discrediting campaign against Trump was orchestrated by the ‘deep state,’ with government structures fully involved in its execution,” Kobakhidze said.

Thanking Gabbard for “exposing deep state,” Kobakhidze concluded: “The public must be fully informed about the methods used by the oligarchy’s informal governance to discredit political opponents, because a society shielded by truth is the strongest guarantee of a state’s resilience.”

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