I believe that today, with its own inaction, this regime is sabotaging the interests of our country and is facilitating the process of annexation of our occupied territories. For this, this regime must be held politically responsible and, when the time comes, legally responsible, - said Salome Samadashvili, one of the leaders of Lelo-Strong Georgia.

According to Salome Samadashvili, yesterday, the Russian Duma ratified the so-called alliance treaty between Russia and the occupied region of Georgia, the so-called South Ossetia. According to her, while, against the backdrop of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, all states in the region are strengthening their national interests and trying to strengthen their independence from Russia, the only country in the region that is giving up all national interests in favor of Russia "is Georgia and its current ruling regime".

“The ongoing annexation process on our territory, which was once again signed yesterday in Moscow, is another example of this. Since the signing of the aforementioned agreement in Moscow on May 9, the ruling regime of Georgia has not made a single statement on this fact. The government, which detains, fines, and physically abuses its own citizens for peacefully demonstrating on the sidewalks to protest the Russian occupation and demand Georgia’s accession to the European Union, is silent on the open annexation process of the Georgian region. Today, this silence is actually consent to the ongoing annexation process, therefore, I can say that the annexation is taking place precisely with the tacit support of the Ivanishvili regime,” Salome Samadashvili said.

According to her, unlike in previous years, we now see that countries that have traditionally been Georgia’s partners in terms of protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity have not reacted to the current annexation.

According to Samadashvili, this is a logical consequence of the policy pursued by “the Ivanishvili regime, which has left our country in international isolation.”

Samadashvili addresses “representatives of the Ivanishvili regime” and demands that they publish the instructions issued by the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on May 9 to Georgian diplomatic missions and representations after the signing of the so-called alliance treaty.

"I wonder if at least one meeting was held between the diplomatic representatives of Georgia and our partner countries in order to get some kind of response from Western countries, the European Union, the United States and relevant organizations regarding the ongoing fact of annexation. Moreover, I have a question, in general, who remains an ally of Georgia today in a situation where we see that Russia is once again trampling on the national interests of our country. I want to state unequivocally that refraining from such diplomatic lobbying in the given situation is an act against the state interests of Georgia," - said Salome Samadashvili.

The Russian State Duma ratified the so-called agreement on deepening allied cooperation with occupied Tskhinvali. The so-called treaty envisages “expanded cooperation in the areas of defense, security, economy, infrastructure and social policy, as well as the creation of conditions for the free movement of capital, goods, services and labor.”

The document was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the so-called leader of occupied Tskhinvali, Alan Gagloev, on May 9.