"It's as if the Russian government was waiting for the end of the elections, or the election results and the annexation processes in Abkhazia not only accelerated but also became even more severe," said Giorgi Gakharia, former prime minister and chairman of the For Georgia party.
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According to Gakharia, this is reflected in the statement issued by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the latest round of international negotiations in Geneva, as well as in "what will happen on Friday in Abkhazia, when the so-called investment agreement is voted on."
"In fact, during the pre-election period, the 'Dream' created a legal and moral basis for the actions that the Russian Federation is carrying out today. First, there was the 'Sorry' statement, which was directly used by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an official statement as an excuse to confirm that Georgia started the war. Then the prime minister blamed our country for starting the war and promised to prosecute the war criminals. After this campaign, it turns out that our Western partners are asking us to open a second front against Russia through Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
As a result of all this, today the Russian Federation is demanding from Georgia the delimitation of the borders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It is also officially requesting the signing of the non-renewal agreement. Everyone should understand that this is the beginning of the recognition process, not to mention the more difficult annexation processes currently taking place in Abkhazia," Gakharia said at today’s briefing.
According to him, the ruling party, which, before the parliamentary elections, promised the people the restoration of territorial integrity in order to maintain power, "has placed the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity under a huge burden." Gakharia further stated that Russia is dissatisfied with the fact that the Georgian Dream did not achieve a constitutional majority.
"After the apology and when Ivanishvili asked for a constitutional majority, we asked him, ‘man, explain to us why you need this constitutional majority. Are you going to change the state structure in any way?' The answer to this will be given by the official steps taken by the Russian Federation today.
Ivanishvili does not have any resources to reach any agreement or progress toward restoring the country’s territorial integrity with Russia based on national interests. The only thing that the 'Dream' and Ivanishvili want is to make as much money as possible, Russian money, to earn some black money. This is their main goal. A corrupt, weak, illegitimate government is a gift for the Russian Federation," Gakharia said.
At the 62nd round of international discussions in Geneva, which took place from November 5 to 7, the Russian side "emphasized the importance of translating conciliatory signals from Tbilisi into practical actions, their consolidation, and development through concrete steps." By "concrete steps," Russia means the signing of a legally binding document on the non-use of force with the occupied regions, as well as the "start of the process of delimiting Georgia’s state borders with their further demarcation" with Abkhazia and the so-called South Ossetia.
"The urgency of these tasks is determined by official Tbilisi’s recognition that there are political forces in Georgia and beyond its borders that are planning to open a 'second front' against Russia in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Also, there is the reaffirmation of the existing doctrinal instructions in the Constitution of Georgia regarding the country’s accession to NATO and the European Union, and the building of the armed forces according to North Atlantic Alliance standards," states the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Georgian authorities have not yet responded to this statement from the Russian side, nor to the current events in Abkhazia.
