Russian MFA Praises Georgia’s October 4 Vote, Accuses Western ‘Actors’ of Interference
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, during an October 8 briefing, praised Georgia’s October 4 local elections as “transparent and competitive,” while denouncing as “deeply concerning” what she described as the “blatant interference” of a “well-known group of Western actors” in the country’s internal affairs.
“It should be noted that foreign observers, representing both the Global South and Western countries, confirmed the orderly and professional conduct of the voting process,” Zakharova said about this year’s municipal elections that were partly boycotted by the opposition and lacked credible observation.
“I will cite the assessments provided not by us, but by the observers who monitored these elections. According to them, the electoral process was transparent and competitive,” she added.
Zakharova then continued on the election-day unrest in Tbilisi, when one group from a large rally whose organizers had a stated aim to “peacefully overthrow” the Georgian Dream rule, tried to storm the presidential palace but was pushed back and dispersed by riot police. Zakharova described the events as “violent actions by the radical opposition” and slammed what she called the “Western actors” for interference.
“What is deeply concerning is the blatant interference in Georgia’s internal affairs by a well-known group of Western ‘actors,’” Zakharova said, adding that calling them “states” would “not be entirely accurate.” She said opposition representatives linked to the United National Movement (UNM) party of jailed former President Mikheil Saakashvili, and “supported by EU officials and the Kyiv regime,” directly “called for the overthrow of the legitimate authorities.” On the attempted storming of the presidential palace, Zakharova said, “All the old ‘templates’ were used – the same ones that have been actively tested in various parts of the world.”
“The protesters used violence against law enforcement officers – as if they were not their fellow citizens, but representatives of some foreign source,” she continued. “They also attacked journalists performing their professional duties.”
Zakharova said the “clear goal” of what she described as an “ultimately failed provocation” was to implement a Ukraine-style “Maidan scenario” in Georgia – “to install a puppet government, completely subordinate the country to the will of the West, and firmly anchor it on anti-Russian positions – all to use Georgia for new adventures against our country and to destabilize the situation along Russia’s southern borders. In short, to turn Georgia into a tool in someone else’s hands for use in a geopolitical confrontation.”
“The fundamental interests of the Georgian people are cynically and arrogantly ignored by those who stand behind these attempts at color revolutions, ‘Maidans,’ and coups,” she added.
Zakharova said Russia reaffirms its “consistent commitment to peaceful, equal, and mutually beneficial relations with all the countries of the South Caucasus,” further claiming that it opposes the region from becoming “another area of sharp confrontation.”
“It is absolutely clear that only the aforementioned extra-regional forces — pursuing their own short-term goals — could be interested in such a negative scenario, whose destructive nature has once again manifested itself now, these days, in this part of the world.”
Zakharova’s comments echoed the recent rhetoric of the ruling Georgian Dream party, which also insists that the October 4 events constituted a “foreign-managed coup.” Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze claimed yesterday, October 8, that by “failing to denounce or distance themselves” from the October 4 events, the West, including the U.S. and the EU, “indirectly, yet clearly” backed “overthrow and violence.” Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili was more direct, tweeting that “The October 4 coup in Tbilisi was masterminded, funded, and engineered from abroad.”
International partners, mainly from the European Union, said, among others, that the lack of credible observation undermined the transparency of the elections and noted that turnout was relatively low. They also called for “calm and restraint” in the post-election period while urging the authorities to uphold citizens’ rights to freedom of assembly and expression. The ruling party, however, has not received congratulations from any of the country’s traditional Western partners.
Also Read:
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- 05/10/2025 – SSSG Says Arms Cache Found, Links to October 4 Unrest, Ukraine
- 04/12/2024 – Zakharova: Russia Will Be Ready to Go as Far as Tbilisi is Ready To