Saakashvili Warns of Threat Coming from Russia

President Saakashvili said on May 2 that Russia’s current policy towards Georgia poses a threat to the country’s sovereignty and independence and called on the nation to consolidate and “realize this threat.”
 
He said while speaking at the School of Public Administration in Kutaisi that Georgia “is at a crossroads.”

“We are in a historic battle for the establishment of a European state… Although we are a nation of ancient European culture, we have a long way ahead and a long battle ahead to establish a European state,” Saakashvili said.

He said that this goal is impossible to achieve “while the country is a non-integrated country. We should be a united country.”

“Those people who are fighting against our European identity, those people who carry out a propagandistic war against us throughout the world on a daily basis, those who want to depict Georgia as an uncivilized, weak nation-like entity which will disappear soon, are a major problem for Georgia. These are the people who carry out the annexation of our territories on daily basis,” Saakashvili said.

Saakashvili said that while flying over the Shida Kartli region – the region which officially includes breakaway South Ossetia as well –  on his way from Tbilisi to Kutaisi, he received an SMS on his mobile phone saying “MegaPhone [Russia’s mobile phone operator] Welcomes You to Russia.”

“This is a classic example of annexation. This is an uncivilized annexation of a sovereign, European state… Very serious forces from Russia are being installed on the territory of Georgia’s phone operator stations. A border guard department is set up to protect the so called ‘Georgian-Ossetian border,’ – the so called ‘Alania’s border’ – where 25 officers are appointed directly from Russia and are employees of the Russian border guard department; and you know that almost the entire government of so called ‘independent South Ossetia’ is appointed from Russia,” Saakashvili said.

“The annexation of the Georgian territory is being carried out by Russia,” he added.

He also said that Russia is using economic leverage against Georgia through the banning of the import of Georgian agricultural products and wines in order to trigger public unrest, with the subsequent goal of a change of regime in Georgia.

“The only goal of this policy is to trigger starvation in Georgia. Several days ago, one Russian official [Saakashvili did not specify which one] said: ‘I do not understand after all of this why the Georgian people do no go out into streets and oust their leadership.’ So the only goal of [Russia’s policy] is to change the regime in Georgia, which [the current regime] is the last chance for Georgia to restore its territorial integrity through peaceful means,” Saakashvili said.

He called on the nation “to wake up” and realize the threat which Georgia faces.

“All of us, regardless of our political position, regardless of our ethnic background, face the threat of losing our state, our independence, our future. It is high time for everyone to wake up and give up these petty arguments, confrontations, and to realize the real threat – and the real threat is that we can lose our country; but we will not lose our country, because we have already managed to consolidate our state and we had 9% economic growth last year, which is 3.5% more than Russia had,” Saakashvili said.

Saakashvili also said that Georgia does not suffer from the “Russo-phobia disease.”

“We want intensive dialogue with Russia. We want friendship with Russia – with a Russia which respects our sovereignty,” the Georgian President said.