Georgia’s ruling party official: Brussels has finally looked at map - it cannot ignore Georgia’s strategic importance

Levan Machavariani, the First Deputy Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party faction in the legislative body, on Tuesday responded to comments by EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, by saying that Brussels was being forced to recognise Georgia’s strategic importance in regional transport and energy connectivity.

Earlier Marta Kos said that since the start of the war in Iran, nearly all aircraft were flying through the South Caucasus and that the Middle Corridor offers the EU greater security for trade, energy, and digital connectivity.

Machavariani argued that Brussels has struggled to accept Georgia’s independent policies, including its refusal to become a proxy state, its decision not to impose sanctions on Russia or send official volunteer fighters to Ukraine.

“Brussels still cannot forgive us that, despite unprecedented pressure, coercion, and blackmail, we did not allow Georgia to be used as a proxy country. They also cannot forgive us for not imposing sanctions on Russia, not sending volunteer fighters to Ukraine with official government approval, and not transferring our weapons to Ukraine”, he said.

“They also cannot forget that, despite their pre-election campaign for the radical opposition, we defeated them by a large margin in the 2024 parliamentary elections”, Machavariani continued.

He also cited the neutralisation of multiple attempted revolutions, the introduction of transparency legislation for foreign-funded organisations, and the ban on LGBT propaganda in schools and kindergartens as points of contention.

“They also remember that in recent years we neutralised five revolutions. They also cannot accept that we made transparent the so-called Lomjaria and Gigauri collective funded by them. For them, it is also unacceptable that we banned LGBT propaganda in schools and kindergartens”, he stressed.

“It is welcome that, at last, Brussels looked at the map. And once it does, it will not be able to escape the reality it saw there…”, Machavariani concluded.