Roman Gotsiridze: In conditions of foreign isolation, a “money famine” will begin, so they will go after everyone, including businesses—a concept from Shevardnadze’s era, “tax collection,” will emerge

“What Kobakhidze stated three days ago on Ivanishvili’s orders is political audacity and a direct crime—essentially, he considers the United States and the European Union as outright aggressive forces against ‘honest Russia,’” said politician Roman Gotsiridze on PalitraNews’s program “Day’s Newsroom.”

According to his assessment, the situation in which the state currently finds itself, when evaluated politically, means that Georgia has become an ally and friendly state of Russia, has turned into a country hostile to Ukraine, and perceives the West as an enemy force.

“What Kobakhidze stated three days ago on Ivanishvili’s orders is political audacity and a direct crime. In other words, he linked the EU’s growing military strength to a threat against Russia. He considers the United States and the European Union as outright aggressive forces against ‘honest Russia.’ Such a statement is never made without serious consideration or political context. He directly told Russia, ‘We are orbiting around you,’” Gotsiridze stated.

According to Gotsiridze, “as a result of political isolation, Georgia will effectively be excluded from Western economic life.”

“When the pandemic ended, we were not yet a candidate country for EU membership, and there were no expectations of large-scale aid. If we had moved into negotiation mode, like Moldova and Ukraine, massive, multi-billion projects would have started in Georgia. The EU promised Georgia 4.5 billion by 2027—where is this 4.5 billion? Instead, Armenia, which is not even an EU member country, has no visa-free regime, and is a CIS country, will receive 2.5 billion. We’ve also lost enormous resources—half a billion that was allocated from the EU, EU countries, and the US. Some may ask, why isn’t this reflected in the lari or in our lives? The economy has inertia. It doesn’t show up in a day or two, but one fine day we’ll wake up and find ourselves at the bottom of the abyss,” Gotsiridze stated.

According to the politician, in conditions of foreign isolation, a “money famine” will begin, which is why “Georgian Dream” will “go after everyone, including businesses.”

“The Business Association, where opportunistic businessmen are gathered, feeds from the government’s hand—they get tenders, build roads, sports palaces, infrastructure, or other projects. The budget is being plundered—businesses in a greenhouse environment receive various projects. Every businessman in this association, with a few exceptions, builds skyscrapers in Tbilisi, acts as Ivanishvili’s apologist, pays money to ‘Georgian Dream,’ and gives advertising to propaganda channels. If businesses are protected by anything today, it’s street protests, the political opposition, the non-governmental sector, and international partners, including European Parliament resolutions. As soon as these forces weaken, they’ll go after everyone, because in conditions of foreign isolation, a money famine will begin, the budget won’t receive funds, investments won’t come in, and capital flight will start. When the budget needs to be filled, they first summoned them to the Prime Minister and had them contribute voluntarily; tomorrow, they’ll go to each business, and the concept from Shevardnadze’s era—‘tax collection’—will emerge. The budget is being plundered, and they’ve already started targeting businesses when there’s a shortfall in the budget. This internal war isn’t for filling the budget—it’s for redistributing stolen assets. As for the budget deficit, they’re currently dealing with businesses through dialogue, tomorrow they’ll demand, and the day after they’ll forcibly extract it—that’s the logic. There’s a saying: ‘First, you hit your own so that others will be afraid.’ Now they’re hitting their own, and it’s a warning that if you’re not in the service of the Russian regime, ‘I’ll catch my own, and I’ll catch you too,’” Gotsiridze noted.

Regarding the question about the European Parliament’s call to disconnect Georgia from SWIFT and the potential start of cooperation with China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, Gotsiridze responded that no Chinese yuan can save Georgia from being disconnected from SWIFT, and it would be a catastrophe.

“This Chinese system is a settlement payment system, similar to SWIFT. SWIFT operates worldwide. There isn’t a single financial institution in the world that isn’t part of it. Settlements are made in Western currencies—dollars and euros. Up to 25 Russian banks are sanctioned, with 22 more recently added, but there are 300 banks in Russia, and the remaining banks open accounts in China through this payment system. The Chinese yuan is the financial savior of Russia’s economy. What happened in Georgia? The president of this system came to the National Bank—this is unimaginable. It’s an unprecedented case. Did the Chinese value Georgia’s National Bank so highly that the head of this system visited? This is already a serious statement—they’re telling Georgia, ‘If you get disconnected from SWIFT, like Russia, or follow the path Iran took, we’ll help you with this path.’ Essentially, they’re already preparing for disconnection from SWIFT. No Chinese yuan can save us from being disconnected from SWIFT—it will be a catastrophe. People will come out and overthrow the government because emigrants won’t be able to transfer a single tetri, tourists won’t come, and so on,” Gotsiridze noted.

Regarding the question about the suspension of visa liberalization, Gotsiridze responded that “it will be a catastrophe.”

“Some might say, ‘We lived without visa-free travel before.’ Yes, we did, but when you applied for a visa, 70% were approved, and 30% were rejected. And those who went had some guarantees or means to travel to Europe. Now, no one will be able to enter Europe because every application will be perceived as an attempt to sneak in. This will have severe political consequences—we’re losing money, the ability to access healthcare, and trust. It will be a declaration that Georgia is an outcast country,” Gotsiridze explained.