The Daily Beat: 29 September
According to the latest Edison Research poll commissioned by Formula TV, European and Euro-Atlantic integration continues to enjoy high public support. Edison Research polls suggest that 90% of the population supports the country’s EU integration, while 10% are against it. As for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 83% of the population backs the country’s NATO membership, with 17% opposing joining the Western military alliance.
According to the same poll, the ruling Georgian Dream party tops the political party ratings with 37%, followed by the United National Movement – 22% and former prime minister Giorgi Gakharia’s “For Georgia” – 10%. All other political parties won’t pass the 5% threshold to enter the parliament.
A Russian missile corvette, “Tsyklon,” has reportedly moored in the Sokhumi port of the occupied Abkhazia region. It is officially designated to participate in the “Victory and Independence Day” events scheduled for September 30. According to local online media “Apsnypress,” at the port, the missile ship was met by the representatives of the local and Russian occupation authorities. “Tsyklon” is one of Russia’s newest warships, a Karakurt class corvette, which joined Russia’s Black Sea Fleet this summer.
German and French Ambassadors issued a joint statement, highlighting the possible obtainment of EU candidacy as a future historic opportunity in EU-Georgia relations. A joint statement also referred to the EU membership perspective, calling on all political forces in Georgia to unite and work together to achieve this goal. Ambassadors also welcomed the series of recent and future visits from Georgia to EU capitals and EU institutions.
Transparency International-Georgia (TI-Georgia), a local watchdog, released a new report indicating a further increase in Georgia’s economic dependence on Russia in 2023. According to the watchdog, from January to June 2023, Georgia’s income from Russia reached USD 2 billion through remittances, tourism, and the export of goods, representing a 1.6-fold increase compared to the income received from Russia from the same sources during the same period in 2022. “Georgia’s growing economic dependence on Russia represents a threat, as Russia traditionally uses economic relations to exert political pressure on other countries,” reads the report.
The Supreme Court refused to consider the so-called “money laundering case” of the founders of TBC Bank and the opposition “Lelo” party, Mamuka Khazaradze, Badri Japaridze, and businessman Avtandil Tserteli, father of the TV Pirveli owner, Vato Tsereteli. The decision came six months after the parties appealed the Court of Appeal’s verdict. Avtandil Tsereteli’s lawyer told the local news agency “Interpress News” that the Supreme Court’s decision ends the legal proceedings.
In 2022, the Tbilisi City Court found Mamuka Khazaradze, Badri Japaridze, and Avtandil Tserteli guilty of group fraud, sentencing them to seven years in prison but released the three because the statute of limitations had expired by the time of the verdict. The defense appealed, and in January 2023, the Court of Appeals upheld the City Court’s decision.
National Statistics Office (Geostat) released rapid estimates, reporting a 5.8% growth rate in the country’s real GDP for August 2023 compared to the same period of the previous year. According to Geostat, the GDP growth was mainly prompted by financial and insurance activities, construction, manufacturing, and trade.
