Georgia’s Prime Minister Emphasizes EU Integration Despite Protests

Tbilisi (Eurotoday) – Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated his Government’s “top foreign policy priority” was ensuring integration into the European Union, adding the goal would be achieved through “dignity, fairness, and absence of blackmail”.

In his statements amid continued public protests against his Government’s suspension of EU accession discussions, Kobakhidze unfolded his gratitude to citizens for their “experience, rational thought, [and] patience”, which he stated had  “made it possible to thwart” what he called “a fourth try at revolution” through the protests.

“We regret if anyone misunderstood our message. The country’s integration into the European Union continues, and there will be no barriers to our path towards Europe. I want to remind European bureaucrats and politicians, including those who artificially restrict our EU integration, to put accession discussions on the table, and we will inscribe it immediately”, the PM stated.  

“Instead of blackmail, we choose action, and instead of injustice, we stand for justice. This is our stance, and we will continue to operate accordingly. Together with European politicians, we must restore the importance of the EU in the eyes of the Georgian public”, he said. Kobakhidze earlier stressed “falsehoods” he alleged were being shared with claims of the Government’s halting of the EU integration approach.

On the other hand, the protesters, spurred on by a figurehead pro-Western president and four opposition parties, express the government is illegitimate; the opposition won’t enter parliament because of the “falsified elections”.