“If anyone thinks they can come here, simply hit us, and we will remain silent, then they do not know the history of our country. The Georgian people did not remain silent toward Soviet Moscow, and we will not remain silent toward Brussels either,” Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili told journalists, commenting on the meeting of EU foreign ministers, where, among other issues, Georgia will also be discussed.

According to Papuashvili, what Brussels had been doing toward Georgia behind the scenes - and what “Georgian Dream” had been talking about - is now becoming public.

“If the message is that if Georgia changes its foreign policy decisions, then there will be some kind of perspective, this is truly a catastrophic demand toward Georgia. All of this was happening quietly, but now it is becoming increasingly public - what we have been saying about where Brussels is actually pushing us.

The only issue where Brussels has concerns regarding Georgia’s foreign policy is that Georgia is not fully aligned with the sanctions imposed by Brussels on Russia. It is not enough for them that Georgia ensures EU sanctions are not circumvented within its territory; Brussels demands that Georgia itself impose sanctions on Russia. This means full alignment with Brussels’ sanctions policy. If Brussels says there should be visa restrictions with Russia, then we should introduce them as well. If it says certain trade should be restricted, then we should adopt those sanctions too.

This is the only issue in our foreign policy where Brussels has been criticizing us, albeit indirectly - that we are not fully aligned with sanctions, meaning we are not imposing bilateral sanctions on Russia. If this is indeed their position, then it means they want to drag us into escalation with Russia, which ultimately means war.

If anyone thinks they can come here, label us pro-Russian, make accusations, and we will remain silent, they are mistaken. They should know very well that we will not stay silent. The Georgian people did not remain silent toward Soviet Moscow, and we will not remain silent toward Brussels either,” Papuashvili said.