Territory vs LGBT support: This post-Soviet country will have to choose

Georgia, seeking to resolve its territorial conflict with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, is coming to the realization that this does not serve the interests of the West.

By Farhad Ibragimov – expert, lecturer at the Faculty of Economics at RUDN University, visiting lecturer at the Institute of Social Sciences of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration

A growing number of calls for reconciliation between the people of Georgia, and the people of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, have recently emerged from Tbilisi. The discussions were initiated by Bidzina Ivanishvili, the leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party. Ivanishvili was the first prominent Georgian politician to openly accuse former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili of instigating a war that resulted in casualties on both sides. Soon afterwards, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze made a similar statement. Acknowledging the need for reconciliation, he initiated the discussion on a critical topic for the country.

In response, the Foreign Ministry of Abkhazia stated that if Georgia acknowledged its past mistakes, this could be a significant step toward reconciliation with South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It proposed establishing a legally binding agreement between Abkhazia and Georgia, as well as between South Ossetia and Georgia, on the non-use of force. However, this scenario seems unlikely, as Tbilisi would thereby need to internationally recognize the independence of its former territories. Meanwhile, Georgia still hopes to peacefully reintegrate its former regions into its legal and administrative framework.

Ivanishvili’s statements remain declarative at this stage, and only generally outline the direction of potential future negotiations with the republics. The possibility of meaningful dialogue depends on whether Georgian Dream can secure its position after the parliamentary elections and fend off the opposition’s ongoing efforts to instigate a new 'Rose Revolution' in Georgia – the protests that have been going on for almost two months, in which the Georgian opposition, with the support of Western politicians and diplomats, is trying to challenge its defeat in the parliamentary elections.

In the lead-up to the parliamentary elections in Georgia on October 26, Brussels increasingly criticized Tbilisi. European politicians expressed growing concern over the state of democracy, rule of law, and human rights in the country. Following the election, pressure from the West intensified. The Georgian authorities were called to implement reforms and strengthen democratic institutions.

Georgia's foreign agent law and anti-LGBTQ+ law, which were passed by the parliament amid protests and scandals, subjected the country to more pressure from European officials. Unabashedly intervening in Georgia’s domestic affairs, they have openly threatened the Georgian government with sanctions and various restrictive measures. In Brussels, officials warned that Georgia’s integration into the European Union could be jeopardized, and its EU candidate status might be delayed or even revoked.

On October 9, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) adopted a resolution stating that Georgia’s current “democratic backsliding” is hindering its EU integration and demanded EU funding provided to the Georgian government be frozen. The resolution stated that despite the fact that Georgia was given candidate status for EU membership in December 2023, the country’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, is promoting an increasingly authoritarian agenda. It stressed that the new Georgian laws, along with changes in the electoral legislation and a growing anti-European rhetoric “violate freedom of expression, censor the media, restrict critical voices in civil society and the NGO sector, and discriminate against vulnerable groups.” The resolution noted that unless these laws are revoked, progress in Georgia-EU relations will be halted. 

However, not all MEPs participated in drafting the final version of the resolution – notably, this concerns the new political group Patriots for Europe, the EU parliament’s third-largest group. A member of the group, French MEP Thierry Mariani, said that the “resolution of the European Parliament aims to influence Georgia’s elections. This is a dangerous process because it gives us the image of a moralizer.”He also pointed out that American businessman George Soros has financially supported Georgian NGOs, labeling this as direct external interference. However, no one in Europe seems concerned about this.

The West exerted significant efforts to prevent Georgian Dream  from winning the election because its policies do not align with the long-term goals of the Western elites for controlling the region. Tbilisi’s pursuit of an independent foreign policy and attempts to reconcile with Abkhazia contradict Western interests, since the West uses the conflict in the South Caucasus as a convenient tool of influence. Efforts towards reconciliation and dialogue undermine the West’s strategy of division and tension. Should Georgia normalize relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, it could emerge as a stabilizing force rather than a battleground for geopolitical rivalry – and this clearly contradicts Western goals. This is why the West exerts increasing pressure on Tbilisi and strongly criticizes Georgia’s steps towards a sovereign policy. For the West, maintaining tension, dependency, and managed chaos is more advantageous than fostering lasting peace and reconciliation in the region.

The West openly demonstrates that it does not want Georgian Dream to be in power, and in fact, seeks to initiate a change of government in the country by any means. Such a scenario played out in Georgia 20 years ago during the so-called Rose Revolution that brought the radical pro-Western figure Mikhail Saakashvili to power. And the West is prepared to repeat it today, regardless of the potential consequences.

Brussels is clearly irritated by the efforts of the Georgian authorities to maintain a neutral stance, which includes pursuing peace with Abkhazia, normalizing relations with Russia, and expanding economic ties with China. Georgian Dream initially proclaimed a pro-European ideology and wanted to join NATO, but over time it has developed a more skeptical view of Europe. This shift in political sentiment did not happen out of the blue. Georgian Dream has actually put in more effort than Saakashvili to integrate Georgia into the EU. It was Georgian Dream that liberalized the visa regime with the EU, embarking on the so-called European development path. At that time, Tbilisi naively believed that being part of the 'European family' would allow Georgia to retain its own views, traditions, and values, and act in its own interests. However, the situation in Ukraine – often referenced by Kobakhidze and Tbilisi’s mayor and secretary general of the Georgian Dream party, Kaha Kaladze – has proven highly instructive for Georgia. The illusion of Eurointegration has brought nothing but problems; in the West, post-Soviet republics, including Georgia, are seen as pawns that can be used to provoke Russia, rather than as equal partners.

Georgia also sees that the painful issue with Abkhazia will not be resolved by the West; rather, it will likely be exacerbated, as was the case in August 2008. Economically speaking, no significant progress should be expected either: as of 2024, Georgia’s largest trading partners are Turkey ($964 million), Russia ($837 million), China ($498 million), and Azerbaijan ($401 million). Kyrgyzstan leads the list of exporters ($292 million). This means that Tbilisi’s main economic partners are post-Soviet states with historic ties to Georgia, along with Turkey and China, rather than EU countries. Kobakhidze warns that Georgia’s GDP may decline by 18% if Tbilisi imposes sanctions on Moscow, which the EU aggressively advocates. Meanwhile, he pointed out that Georgia's share in Russia’s foreign trade is a mere 0.3%. Thus, it’s clear that imposing sanctions on Russia would have no impact on Moscow but would backfire on Tbilisi. Ivanishvili, the founder of Georgian Dream whom the EU accuses of pulling the country away from Western values, stated that the ruling party is the only party focused on Georgian interests and wants to preserve peace in the country.

It’s clear that, in the eyes of European officials and the collective West, the 'battle for Georgia' is far from over. For Brussels, Georgia represents a strategically valuable asset that no one plans to relinquish without a fight. It’s not just about integrating Tbilisi into the Western community – it’s about continuing a major geopolitical struggle for influence in the South Caucasus.

https://www.rt.com/russia/611109-territory-vs-lgbt-support-choice/

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