Pro-Kremlin Group in Georgia Reportedly Starts Campaign for Restoring Russia Ties
On May 7, a group of pro-Russian politicians and public figures, many of whom are allegedly aligned with the ruling Georgian Dream party, met at the Ambassadori Hotel in Tbilisi to launch a signature campaign calling for restoring diplomatic relations between Georgia and Russia.
NOTE: The news article is largely based on the investigative Saturday Show of opposition-leaning TV Pirveli, aired on May 10.
The May 7 meeting, titled “Round Table: Georgia’s Place in Changing World and Perspectives of Neighboring Politics,” was chaired by Mamuka Pipia, a Russian businessman of Georgian origin who is one of the leaders of the pro-Russian “Solidarity for Peace” party founded in 2023. Pipia has reportedly lived most of his life in Russia and is a friend of the infamous Sergei Gavrilov, Russian Communist Party MP, whose visit to Georgia and appearance in the Georgian Parliament Speaker’s seat sparked mass protests in Tbilisi in June 2019.
The meeting on May 7 brought together several outspoken pro-Russian figures, including Paata Abuladze, the brother-in-law of Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze; Fridon Injia, the father of GD MP Ilia Injia and himself former GD deputy; and Nana Kakabadze, a co-founder of “United Neutral Georgia,” another pro-Russian group that often echoes GD narratives.
Although the TV report does not give much information about the content of the meeting, it captures the part of the document signed by the participants of the meeting that reads, “We positively assess and welcome Georgia’s foreign policy, at the same time we consider it necessary for our government to start direct dialogue with the government of the Russian Federation.” The document reportedly argues that Georgia cannot overcome the economic and social difficulties it is currently facing without direct talks with Russia. The group reportedly plans to start petitioning for starting direct talks and possible restoration of the diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation. The petition campaign is to be nationwide.
TV Pirveli report claims that the signatures will serve as a pretext for the official Tbilisi of the GD government to restore diplomatic relations with Moscow, justifying the move by the will of the Georgian people.
After the meeting, Mamuka Pipia told a journalist: “We should give the government a mandate to act more courageously… We should mobilize the people, and then it will be up to the government to decide… It can be the restoration of diplomatic relations. It can be, as the Russians are offering us, the beginning of a dialogue in Moscow, Sokhumi, Tbilisi, and Tskhinvali”. He added: “We are not part of the government, nor are we its advocates. We [only] see that there is a demand for it among the people.”
Before bringing together pro-Russian figures in Tbilisi, Mamuka Pipia reportedly met in Moscow with Sergei Naryshkin, Russia’s foreign intelligence chief. TV Pirveli presents photos of the two shaking hands.
After the meeting of the group in Tbilisi, Pipia traveled to Moscow, where he attended the May 9 military parade. Otar Partskhaladze, the U.S.-sanctioned former prosecutor general, also attended the parade. TV Pirveli shows the photo of the two on Red Square. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Partskhaladze in 2023 for his ties to Russia’s FSB and for influencing Georgian society and politics for the benefit of Russia.
TV Pirveli asked Anri Okhanashvili, the newly appointed head of Georgia’s State Security Service, about Partskhaladze’s presence at the military parade in Moscow and why the investigation into the former Prosecutor General’s alleged ties to Russian intelligence has not been completed after two years. Okhanashvili refused to comment.
Another figure in the story is Mamuka Merkviladze, who head of the Georgian interests’ section at the Swiss Embassy in Russia, who the investigation claims, was tasked by Georgian Dream PM Irakli Kobakhidze with attracting Russian investment in Georgia. With this in mind, the Russian-Georgia Business Council was created. Merkviladze is known to reportedly have ties to Russia, including Putin’s inner circle, as well as erstwhile connections to GD founder Bidzina Ivainshvili.
While some top Russian officials recently broached the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries, official Tbilisi has so far maintained that the occupation of Georgian territories remains the “red line” for the GD government to talk with Moscow.
Georgia severed diplomatic ties with Russia in 2008 after Moscow recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states following the war.
Also Read:
- 14/04/2025 – Moscow Ready to Restore Diplomatic Relations with Tbilisi, Galuzin Says
- 11/02/2025 – Galuzin: Development of Relations with Georgia Will Lead to Restoration of Diplomatic Relations
- 05/11/2024 – Lavrov Denies Russian Interference in Georgian Elections, Expresses Readiness to Normalize Relations
- 29/09/2024 – Lavrov: Russia Ready to Help Georgia, Abkhazia, Tskhinvali Normalize Relations
- 27/08/2024 – Russian Foreign Intelligence Chief Says Russia Wants to Prevent Color Revolution in Georgia
- 26/06/2024 – Zakharova: Russia is Ready to Support Endeavors to Restore Georgian-Russian Relations
This post is also available in: ქართული Русский