Former Georgian Diplomats: GD Diverted from EU Integration Path
On April 29, over sixty former diplomats, including five former foreign ministers and 28 ambassadors, issued a joint statement accusing the ruling Georgian Dream and its honorary chairman, Bidzina Ivanishvili, of “making a 180-degree turn in the country’s foreign policy” and deliberately deviating from the path of European integration toward Russia. The former diplomats call on “every patriot” to speak out against “unjust laws or decisions.”
“We would like to remind our colleagues, in the public or diplomatic service, that there are moments in the country’s history when silence is equal to complicity, and protection of the country’s Constitution and the European path is a responsibility and even an obligation,” the statement says.
The former diplomats’ statement coincides with the ruling Georgian Dream’s ongoing second hearing on the contentious foreign agents bill. Additionally, the Georgian Dream is mobilizing supporters for a rally on evening of April 29 in favor of the legislation.
The statement notes: “For us, the diplomats of different generations of this country, who devoted many years to strengthening the European and Euro-Atlantic integration and state interests of our country, it is completely clear that Bidzina Ivanishvili and “Georgian Dream” changed the foreign policy course from the West to Russia.”
“Today, the government of Georgia claims that it is not ready for the European Union, it adopts laws that directly contradict the course chosen by Georgia, the will of the absolute majority of the population and international obligations,” the statement says. “It is taking us away from the EU. Today, the Georgian Dream directly attacks our main international partners – the United States and the European Union – which weakens the country and contradicts the national interests and the Constitution of our country,” the diplomats warn. According to them, the international reactions to the reintroduced law on foreign agents confirm that “our friends are worried” about the foreign policy shift.
In the statement, the former diplomats expressed their hope that the vast majority of the people of Georgia will not be “an active or passive participant” of this foreign policy shift.
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