GD Leader: EU Demarche Echoes Radical Opposition’s Stance
Speaking at the Parliament’s plenary session on May 30, MP Irakli Kobakhidze, chairman of the Georgian Dream party, reacted to the diplomatic demarche made by the EU ambassadors on the resumption of direct flights between Georgia and Russia, saying that “with this demarche, they actually demanded us to impose sanctions on the Russian Federation, which was a surprise.” Kobakhidze also noted that with this demarche, the European Union has echoed the stance of the radical opposition.
He also emphasized that similarly to the “radical” opposition, Georgia’s partners also claimed that they did not demand the Georgian government to impose sanctions on Russia, “but now we have seen a different approach.” “Our position on sanctions remains unchanged – we aren’t imposing sanctions on the Russian Federation.”
Kobakhidze reiterated that there were two reasons for this. First, according to him, it would be a serious step towards escalation, and secondly, “from the economic point of view, sanctions would have the most serious consequences for us, our country and our people.” “We cannot allow the escalation to deepen, we should protect the security of our country and people,” he added.
“We have talked many times about the fact that if you impose sanctions on another country, the purpose should be to punish it, and if you punish your own country and your own people by imposing sanctions, that is absurd and of course, we could not do that.”
Irakli Kobakhidze also commented on the remarks made by President Salome Zurabishvili during the Independence Day celebrations, when she noted: “Is our dignity really being sold for 200-300 million?!” Kobakhidze said: “A few days ago, one of our citizens remarked that we are selling our dignity for 200-300 million… First of all, dignity is not sold for 200-300 million, nor for 200-300 billion. This is the approach of our government, unlike the previous one.”
“We are talking about much more here,” he said, reiterating the statements of the ruling team that “if sanctions were imposed on Russia, we would not be punishing Russia, but our own country, and we would have at least a 10% [economic] decline in the first year… which in money terms means the following – our economy would lose from 2.5 billion [US] dollars to 4.5 billion [US] dollars.”
“The question should be – who would compensate us for this amount? Especially when the total annual funding from the European Union and the United States is USD 200 million. This is not all the aid, most of it is used to finance NGOs, which does not contribute to the economy, and a large part of it is returned,” Kobakhidze said, stressing that “this amount could not compensate for the deficit we are talking about.”
Then he noted that “there are speculations, as if the candidate status would be a compensation for all this.” “I would like to remind you that Moldova received the candidate status last year, but the difference between the economies of Georgia and Moldova is increasing in our favor by USD 8 billion.”
“So, this is an empty speculation and there is no connection between the candidate status and economic growth,” he said, reiterating that the ruling party will not allow “escalation, taking steps to open the second front and punishing its own people economically.” “It will be a wrong step. Therefore, this issue will not be considered.”
In the end, Kobakhidze said that the goal of the ruling team is to move toward the elimination of poverty in the country, “to get closer to the European standard of welfare.” “This path has no alternative to the path offered by the radical opposition.”
“We are responsible to our own people and our country, and in the future all steps will be taken primarily in line with the interests of the state and our own people,” he added.
Also Read:
- 16/05/2023 – EU on Georgia’s Decision to Issue Permit for Direct Flights with Russia: “This is Very Regrettable”
- 12/05/2023 – US State Department Spokesperson Does not Exclude Sanctioning Companies at Georgian Airports Following Lifting of Flight Ban by Russia
- 11/05/2023 – U.S. Ambassador on Flights: Georgia doesn’t have to become dependent on Russia again
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