Levan Sanikidze: At Ivanishvili’s will and decision, “Georgian Dream” is ready to have 4 million Georgians sanctioned; The suspension of visa-free travel is not just about creating additional barriers — if that happens, we will be saying goodbye to European civilization

“By the will and decision of Ivanishvili, ‘Georgian Dream’ is ready to sanction 4 million Georgians, which is the true tragedy of this country,” said Levan Sanikidze, one of the leaders of the “United National Movement,” in a statement to journalists.

According to his assessment, if Georgia’s visa-free regime is suspended, the responsibility will lie solely with the government.

“The suspension of visa-free travel is not just about creating additional barriers for our country’s citizens; it will be a historic, tragic event because, if it happens, we will once again bid farewell to European civilization. Because of Ivanishvili, 4 million Georgians are being sanctioned. The responsibility for this issue lies entirely with Bidzina Ivanishvili and his regime. Instead of sanctioning 15 members of ‘Georgian Dream’ and Ivanishvili’s entourage, Ivanishvili’s main ally, Viktor Orbán, is blocking this sanctions package. As a result, Ivanishvili is moving toward sanctioning 4 million Georgians—this is Mr. Ivanishvili’s will. Let those who want to accept this do so, but we believe this will be such a severe blow to Georgia, so transformative for our foreign policy course, and will so significantly alter the approach of our Western partners that we need to be far more active. Our party’s position has always been, and remains, that specific high-ranking officials and businessmen from ‘Georgian Dream’ should be sanctioned. However, by Ivanishvili’s will and decision, ‘Georgian Dream’ is ready to sanction 4 million Georgians, which is the true tragedy of this country. This once again indicates that replacing Ivanishvili is not only our desire but a necessity,” Sanikidze stated.

He also commented on the European Commission’s letter, which demands that the Georgian government implement eight recommendations.

According to Levan Sanikidze, the suspension of visa liberalization is a political decision underpinned by legal issues.

“Those eight points reflect these eight legal requirements. As for the political demands, believe me, if elections in this country had not been rigged, if political prisoners were not in jail, if the media were not persecuted, and so on, this issue would not have arisen at all, including those eight points,” Sanikidze stated.

For reference, Beate Gminder, Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, sent a letter to Georgia’s Foreign Minister, Maka Bochorishvili, requesting that the Commission be provided with information on the implementation of the recommendations or the adoption of appropriate measures to comply with the Commission’s recommendations.

The Commission has issued several recommendations, including a demand for the Georgian government to repeal the law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” and the legislative package “On Family Values and Protection of Minors,” as well as to amend the National Human Rights Strategy and Action Plan to ensure full protection of the rights of LGBTQ individuals.