Lavrov: Georgian Government's Actions Reflect National Identity Awareness

"What the Georgian government is doing now is realizing their national identity and understanding that the Georgian people share the same Orthodox faith and national cultural values. These values, however, risk being faded, erased, or changed by the 'rules' the West imposes on everyone, especially in the context of liberal democracy and democratic liberalism. The Georgian people do not like this, just as they reject the unbridled promotion of the LGBT agenda. [...]

The Georgian 'example' is very illustrative. More and more countries are realizing that this 'funnel' of liberal democracy, into which the West is trying to 'swallow' them, goes against their roots, traditions, and ancestral heritage. The West seeks to destroy, forget, and replace these traditions with its own non-traditional values, which it believes will help maintain its hegemony. [...]

The Georgian people, whom I know well and admire for their love of life (Georgia was one of the leading cultural centers during the Soviet Union – our common motherland), are carefully protecting their history. I believe they have earned the reprimands of the West for that," Lavrov said.

In the same interview, the Russian diplomat also commented on the Russian-style law adopted by the Georgian Parliament, which is being challenged in the Constitutional Court. He corrected the journalist, stating, "The Georgian law is not called the law on 'foreign agents,' but the law on 'transparency of foreign funding.' Individuals or organizations that violate this law will not be given any special status. Instead, they are required to disclose the funding they receive from abroad in accordance with the law," said Sergey Lavrov.

Following the Russian law, Georgian Dream intends to pass homophobic legislative amendments, which would limit the rights of LGBT people in Georgia and introduce censorship. The European Union has called on the Georgian authorities to completely revise the legislative package. The ruling party has also introduced a draft of a constitutional law titled 'On Family Values and the Protection of Minors,' but they do not have the necessary constitutional majority (113 deputies) in the current Parliament. According to the Venice Commission, if these changes are adopted, the government will create the risk of reinforcing stigma and prejudice, encouraging homophobia, which is incompatible with the concepts of equality, pluralism, and tolerance that are fundamental to a democratic society."