Russia's intelligence statement is part of an enemy replacement operation. When they tell you that the West is the enemy, that danger comes from the West, that the West is forcing war upon us while Russia is caring for us—it means that the ‘Georgian Dream’ has replaced its enemy. For them, the enemy is the West, said Paata Manjgaladze, General Secretary of "Strategy Aghmashenebeli," during an appearance on PalitraNews' program "Day's Newsroom."

According to him, Russia’s intelligence statement serves to suppress people.

"This is a tactic of so-called hybrid warfare. On the international stage, the so-called regime—meaning Ivanishvili’s government—does not exist. You will not find a single European, democratic country that has recognized their legitimacy. There is no such country. They created a false expectation and claimed that on January 20, Trump's inauguration would take place, and sanctions would be lifted from them. The opposite happened—in fact, during a transitional government, they were sanctioned by name. Who came to their support? In this reality, where neither the civilized world nor the Georgian people recognize their legitimacy, Russia appeared. Every statement from Russia's intelligence serves to suppress people. A part of hybrid warfare is to suppress people to the point where they lose the ability to think critically.

When they introduced the 'Russian law,' we and many experts immediately pointed out that this is an enemy replacement operation. For over 30 years—and more than 200 years—we have known that the only open enemy threatening Georgia, openly, publicly, and through actions, occupying 20% of our territory and refusing to recognize Georgia as a free, sovereign state in the Caucasus, is Russia. The enemy replacement operation is when they tell you that the West is the enemy, that danger comes from the West, that the West is forcing war upon us, while Russia is caring for us.

At this moment, their main allies are the so-called 'club of dictators.' Ivanishvili’s primary allies are the dictators' club. Who are they? Iran, Russia, Belarus. Hybrid warfare is the suppression of citizens and government structures by an opposing country. Nowhere is hybrid warfare defined as a government suppressing its own people. We are in such an unprecedented situation. Everywhere else, hybrid warfare means an external enemy's informational attack on people's minds. Here, the so-called government itself is attacking its own people.

They introduce laws, impose regulations. Hybrid warfare aims to create uncertainty, and we must not leave space for such uncertainty. We must not leave people in fear. We must talk about this. This is part of Russia’s hybrid warfare—to put people in a state where they lose the ability to make proper analyses. A frightened, suppressed person cannot think critically or act logically. How do we counter this? By doing exactly what we are doing now—talking about it openly, providing people with real information, explaining what the 'friendly Russian statement' actually serves, which claims that the EU is an enemy and wants unrest in the country.

On New Year’s, 200,000 people took to the streets to protest against the government. If we simply multiply that by 100 euros per person, what kind of sum are we talking about? How could anyone distribute such an amount of money, give it to 200,000 people, and no one capture it on camera? Does that even make sense? This is an insult to those people who have been protesting continuously for more than 90 days. Unfortunately, for 200 years, patriots have been judged by scoundrels. This is the reality, and we must change it. The country has been hijacked, and we must reclaim it," Manjgaladze said.

He also noted that the ‘Georgian Dream’ operates in sync with Russia.

"Some still argue that ‘Georgian Dream’ is not following Russian instructions but that their interests merely align. This has been the case for a long time. Let’s take Shalva Papuashvili’s statement in response to the EU ambassador and compare it to the statement from Russian intelligence. Is it not the same? ‘The EU ambassador is acting undiplomatically,’ ‘Brussels wants disorder,’ and the Russians, who provided this information, claim that the West is allegedly planning unrest and distributing money at protests. This is cheap propaganda. This is the so-called ‘fifth column’ in Georgia, which operates in unison and in synchronization with Russian intelligence services.

As for ‘Georgian Dream’s’ statements about the German ambassador, it is clear that they have replaced their enemy. For them, the enemy is the West. For them, the enemy is a patriotic Georgian, while those who sell their country’s future for money and serve the interests of the enemy are considered patriots. This is the chaotic reality that the ‘Georgian Dream’ presents to us. On the international stage, ‘Georgian Dream’ is nothing. Inside the country, there is also nothing," Manjgaladze stated.

Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service has released a statement claiming that the EU is ready to pay Georgian youth—allegedly planning to pay each participant 120 euros per day for anti-government protests.