Georgian President: critics target Georgian Gov’t because it is strong, committed to national interests

Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili on Tuesday said that attempts to discredit the Georgian Government, including the recent BBC report, reflected dissatisfaction with its strength, effectiveness, and commitment to national interests.

In his remarks, Kavelashvili noted that opposition groups and foreign actors had employed various tactics, such as allegations of election fraud and claims of collusion with Russia, to undermine the Government - none of which have been substantiated.

“They resorted to methods like blaming the Russian Government, which could not be proven. Election fraud - again, no evidence. None of their commissioned actions against the Georgian Government could be legally proven, and the Government was right in all instances. Today, it has become clear that they cannot influence this. They are unhappy that the Georgian Government is strong, committed to national interests, and performing its duties well. Therefore, this is one of the next stages aimed at blackening the Georgian Government”, he said.

The President noted that the main purpose of the BBC article was to spread disinformation internationally, portraying the Georgian Government as mistreating its citizens.

“Our society should analyse this carefully. We will provide the appropriate response to everyone - we are very strong. I urge our Government not to back down. Now is not the time for that”, he noted.

Kavelashvili also addressed the provision of incorrect information about Georgia’s citizens to the BBC, as well as a document sent by former Defence Minister Tina Khidasheli to the US State Department, in which she claimed that the Georgian Government was helping Iranian companies evade sanctions, despite the document lacking evidence to support this claim.

The President stressed that the Government and institutions needed to act more strictly towards Georgian citizens who act against their own country.

“Unverified and unsubstantiated information is being delivered in the form of assertions to foreign countries. This, of course, is a matter for investigation, and these individuals must be held legally accountable. How many representatives of this radical wing were there, undermining their own country, claiming that there were hidden black holes here through which information was allegedly being passed to our northern neighbour? Later, representatives from the EU, the UK, and the United States came and rejected all these claims and, on the contrary, praised the Georgian state for working very transparently in this process”, he said.

“When these individuals accuse their own Government and state in another country through foreign media, it is necessary that they be held legally accountable, so they do not have the right to act against their own country with such disinformation and mislead the international community with hearsay”, the President concluded.