Georgian PM: fate of this country must be decided within this country

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday said that the preservation of sovereignty - ensuring that key decisions were made inside the country - had allowed Georgia to maintain peace and develop its economy.

In his interview with Rustavi 2 TV channel, Kobakhidze noted that while the opposition believed that Georgia’s future should be decided in Brussels, Washington, or elsewhere abroad, the Government maintained that all core and strategic decisions must be made within the country.

“This is precisely where the line is drawn between us and the radical opposition - they not only think but openly and publicly state that the fate of the country is, and should be, decided outside the country - in Brussels, Washington, and so on. Our position, however, is that the fate of this country must be decided within this country”, he said.

The Prime Minister highlighted that the fate of the country must be decided in Georgia, in Tbilisi, and all fundamental and key decisions must be made there.

“This is a principled difference in values and mentality between us and the opposition. The main thing we have achieved over the past four years is precisely this: during these four years, the fate of our country was decided in Georgia, and this was the only thing that allowed us to preserve peace and avoid war. Preserving and strengthening our sovereignty was the only factor that enabled us to maintain peace and protect our national interests”, he noted.

He also reflected on Georgia’s historical experience, noting that for centuries the country endured periods when its fate was decided in foreign capitals.

“Of course, our fate must not be decided in any other country. We have lived through this in the past - throughout centuries of our history, unfortunately, there were periods when the fate of our country was decided in one foreign capital or another. Thank God, today Georgia has been an independent, sovereign state for 35 consecutive years. For a certain period, it was only formally a sovereign state; for example, in 2004-2012, we had virtually no sovereignty left, when foreign agents governed our country”, he said.

Kobakhidze further noted that since 2012 the Government had gradually strengthened Georgia’s sovereignty in a substantive way, making it possible to pursue peace, economic development, and long-term stability.

“However, since 2012, we have gradually and step by step managed to strengthen our sovereignty to the maximum extent. And the main achievement of our Government is precisely that the fate of this country is decided in Georgia. This gives us the opportunity to preserve peace, develop the economy, and so on”, he noted.

“Otherwise, the development of a country is unimaginable. We can also see, in the example of European bureaucracy, where the European Union has been led under conditions of lost sovereignty and how events are unfolding across the EU. Therefore, the main goal we should strive for is to preserve sovereignty and ensure that our fate is decided in our own country”, Kobakhidze said.