Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also discussed Georgia during an interview with Dmitry Kiselyov, the director general of the Russian state news agency Russia Today and one of the Kremlin's leading propagandists.
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“I see that the situation in Georgia is stabilizing, and we are happy about it. Georgia is our most important partner and close friend. For centuries, our peoples have lived in peace and harmony. Therefore, the destabilization of Georgia or the threat of destabilization is as harmful to Georgia as it is to Azerbaijan. For our part, we are doing everything to ensure that the situation in Georgia remains politically stable and that Georgia develops successfully,” said the Azerbaijani President.
In this context, Aliyev mentioned external influences, spoke about the foreign funding of NGOs, and suggested that USAID, the US Agency for International Development, should be banned.
“It turns out that thousands of NGOs operate in Georgia, funded by the West, and the people working in these organizations or receiving salaries likely number in the tens of thousands, if not more. We know what this is because there was a time here [in Azerbaijan] when ‘grant eaters’ and grant givers operated freely, but we put a stop to it. Therefore, any grant issued by any organization, whether Azerbaijani or foreign, must be registered, and the relevant authorities must decide whether to allow it or not.
We have regulated all of this. For example, Azerbaijani media cannot receive even 1% of its financing from foreign sources. It is simply not allowed. Why? We do not finance media in the US, so why should they finance our media? Instead, they use resources under their control, like Voice of America and Radio Liberty, to mock our people and our country and cast a shadow over our victory against Armenia.
Therefore, I think Georgia was given some time to address this, but by the time action was taken, the train had already left the station, so to speak. Still, it is good that the situation is now moving toward stability,” Aliyev said, also mentioning the role of French President Emmanuel Macron in recent events in Georgia.
“And again, you see Macron’s involvement. He can’t seem to rest in his own country; he feels the need to intervene in Georgia as well,” said Ilham Aliyev.
According to the Azerbaijani President, Georgia is a key factor in the "battle for the Caucasus."
Georgia has been experiencing continuous, daily protests since November 28, when illegitimate Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that the Georgian Dream party would not prioritize opening EU accession talks until the end of 2028. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has repeatedly dispersed peaceful demonstrators and detained approximately 500 people, including opposition members, on various charges. French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the intimidation of civil society and opposition representatives during a telephone conversation with Bidzina Ivanishvili, Honorary Chairman of the Georgian Dream party, and called for the release of all those arbitrarily detained.
The large-scale protests in recent months have been driven by the Georgian Dream party’s re-initiation and adoption of the Russian-style law on so-called foreign agents, which aims to restrict the activities of independent civil society organizations and the media.
