Protests followed the local elections in Tbilisi. The opposition also attacked the presidential residence. Against this backdrop, Georgian Prime Minister Kobakhidze accused the EU Ambassador to Georgia of supporting attempts to incite unrest in the country.
Radar Armenia spoke to Joni Melikyan, an expert at the Orbeli Center, about the topic.
-How will the protests develop in Georgia?
-Demonstrations in Georgia are not new in recent years. They will not bring profound changes in domestic political life. Last year’s elections demonstrated that the opposition was unable to form a united front capable of achieving a power shift.
-Georgian Prime Minister Kobakhidze accused the EU Ambassador of supporting all of this. How will Georgia’s relations with the EU develop?
-They blame each other, but the way out for all sides, including Armenia, is that some political force or a well-known Western figure should come forward with the mediation of experience and bring the parties to the negotiating table. In another scenario, the crisis in relations with the West will deepen, which is not in the interests of Georgia, Brussels, or us.
-The arrest of the opposition is a very harsh response from the authorities. Why did they take such a step?
-These people provoked and led the society to occupy a strategic building. A similar manifestation occurred in Armenia. It wasn’t a harsh step. It was an appropriate action. The presidential residence is a protected strategic structure, and any action taken there will be met with such a response.
–What internal political calculations is the ruling Georgian Dream party making against the backdrop of all this?
-They think they are right. That is also what causes problems. They criticize the West, saying we are right, we are not disappointing our electorate, and we are acting in the state’s interests. They are now in a state of euphoria. In this case, Brussels should recognize that if this trend continues, relations will deteriorate, and they will lose their influence in Georgia.
