Georgia’s ruling party Sec Gen slams domestic opposition over contrasting positions on Russia before and after Ukraine war

Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, said on Tuesday that former President Mikheil Saakashvili welcomed Russian tourists to Georgia shortly after the 2008 war, arguing that the opposition’s shift in rhetoric following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine shows that it acts on instructions from what he described as the Deep State.

Kaladze made the remarks while commenting on Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s recent social media statement regarding the level of “Russophobia” in Georgia following the August 2008 war and the opposition’s subsequent shift in rhetoric.

“Everything is very clear from the Prime Minister’s letter, and anyone can make the correct analysis. It once again shows that we have people in this country whose homeland is the Deep State. In 2008, after Georgia lost territories, its infrastructure was destroyed, civilians and our heroic soldiers were killed, we all remember the policy pursued by the Government at the time. There were calls encouraging Russians to visit Georgia. We remember Saakashvili greeting Russian tourists at the Larsi border holding flowers in his hands”, the Mayor said.

He also noted that the former Government welcomed Russian investment and transferred Georgian companies to Russian state-owned enterprises.

“All of this shows that these people are not allowed to express their own opinions. They are ordinary agents. They are not even allowed to ask questions. Just as soldiers serve in the army, they serve the Deep State. When your country was bombed in 2008, territories were lost and destroyed, they were not even allowed to speak about it. Instead, they were instructed to welcome Russians to Georgia and actively encourage their arrival through both statements and actions. Then, after Russia invaded Ukraine, we all saw how their rhetoric changed”, Kaladze noted.

The Mayor further described the opposition and some representatives of the NGO sector as hypocritical.

“What we hear from certain politicians and NGO representatives is hypocrisy - nothing more than hypocritical statements and attitudes. I can name specific individuals, including Mshvildadze and Elene Khoshtaria, who openly welcomed these developments after the 2008 war, when Georgia had lost territories and many civilians and soldiers had been killed”, he said.

“At that time, the Mayor of Tbilisi officially sent letters seeking to restore cultural relations and extended invitations for Russians to visit Georgia. This demonstrates that these people simply carried out whatever instructions they were given. Once again, I repeat - they are not even allowed to ask why”, Kaladze concluded.