Zurabishvili Worried about Russian Election Interference

In her interview with Sky News on February 27, President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili said she is concerned about the possible Russian interference with the upcoming “very important” parliamentary elections in Georgia in October 2024.

Asked if she was concerned about Russia’s sway over Georgia, she replied that everyone should be concerned, not just Georgia. “We are concerned because we are directly there. We have 20% of our territory that is currently occupied by Russia and we are concerned because we are going to have very important elections by October.”

The President referred to the experience of “many other countries” that are “much stronger” than Georgia, from which it is known “how Russia can interfere with election[s], how Russia can wage hybrid warfare on countries”.

According to the President, there is also a financing of marginal pro-Russian groups going on in Georgia. She noted that the for the Georgian population, given the occupation, “pro-Russian groups and parties is quite difficult to imagine but there are pro-Russian [groups] that do not declare themselves and there is financing that is coming in to support those groups and to support some forms of anti-western propaganda that we’re seeing elsewhere, we’re seeing here and we’re going to see more of that I’m sure this year. So we have to be very very cautious.”

In addition, speaking of past Russian invasions of Georgia, the President also noted that in that context Georgia and Ukraine have almost parallel histories, and “our only perspective is to get closer and closer to the European Union.”

Also Read:

• 19/02/2024 – UPDATE: President Zurabishvili’s Interviews to Bloomberg, Euractiv, DW
• 18/02/2024 – President Zurabishvili Emphasizes “Existential” Importance of EU Enlargement at MSC Panel

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