Europe continues to expand, and despite Russia’s attempts to weaken the European Union, NATO, and the West - an objective that was also the main purpose of launching the aggressive war in Ukraine - Putin’s plan has failed. Georgia today is completely excluded from this process. There is no other country on the European continent besides Georgia that has so treacherously betrayed the desire and promise of joining the European Union,” opposition politician Armaz Akhvlediani said in the “Day’s Newsroom” program on PalitraNews.

At the same time, according to the politician, statements from the ruling “Georgian Dream” party that the European Union is no longer what it used to be and that it has drifted away from democratic values are essentially Kremlin-style propaganda, mainly used by Putin’s entourage and repeated almost word for word by the Georgian Dream leadership.

“An extremely important development is taking place in Europe today, because the EU’s opening of the door for Ukraine and Moldova means not only incredibly new opportunities for these two countries, but also that Europe is continuing its enlargement. A country at war is managing to take on obligations on the path toward EU membership and attempt to fulfill them properly - let alone Moldova. In this context, Georgia, which just a few years ago was celebrating candidate status and had some hope that nothing would obstruct this path anymore, is now completely excluded from the process. There is no other country on the European continent besides Georgia that once had the desire, the goal, and the claim to become a member of the European family and then so treacherously betrayed that agreement, that desire, and that promise,” he said.

“The propaganda of the Ivanishvili-Kobakhidze ‘Dream’ regarding the European Union is essentially Kremlin-style and Russian in nature. Only Putin’s entourage speaks about Europe and the West in this way, and the Ivanishvili-Kobakhidze group repeats it word for word. Europe has not only not changed, but in the midst of these incredible catastrophes and confrontations currently taking place on the European continent, the European Union is managing to strengthen itself, learn from its mistakes and experience. The example of Orban shows that such things should not be repeated and that the EU should not be hindered by the ambitions or decisions of individual self-centered political leaders,” Akhvlediani said.

The politician believes that introducing appropriate safeguard mechanisms into the EU’s decision-making procedures is very important in order to prevent an “Orban effect” within the Union.

“In order to prevent any hot-headed populist politician in any EU member state from appearing and starting to blackmail European values and engage in dirty bargaining, I believe that introducing appropriate safeguard mechanisms into the EU’s decision-making procedures would be very important,” he said.

He also explained that the obstacle to imposing sanctions on the current Georgian authorities in order to protect the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the majority of Georgia’s population is no longer present in the form of Hungary’s president, but at the same time he argues that no sanctions will be effective unless the opposition in the country wakes up.

“The European Union and its leadership have long understood that the vast majority of the Georgian people’s European aspirations must be protected, and that the anti-European and anti-democratic steps taken by Ivanishvili force Brussels to take appropriate measures. The sanctions policy, it seems, is still not effective, and one of the main reasons for this was clearly Orban. Today, that problem has been resolved. However, we must understand that EU sanctions are primarily directed at the current regime in Georgia. As for the Georgian people, European leaders always encourage them on the path we have chosen - a path of freedom and democracy - but let us admit that no sanctions will work effectively, neither American nor European, if the political opposition field in Georgia does not wake up and remains in a dormant state,” Akhvlediani said.

He is convinced that Georgia has no European perspective together with Bidzina Ivanishvili.

“Everything that has been happening especially over the last two years on the part of the ‘Dream’ against the European perspective shows only that there is a complete mismatch between the political course chosen by Ivanishvili and Kobakhidze and the desires, aspirations of the majority of the Georgian population, as well as the interests of the European Union and leading successful European states regarding us. As for Papuashvili’s criticism of the level of democracy, I think it is even laughable - it is demagoguery. The main problem is that Ivanishvili long ago decided to stay, to dominate, and to multiply his corrupt schemes; therefore, European relations contradict these goals. We see a fundamental divergence between Ivanishvili’s plans and intentions and the path of normality. Georgia has no European perspective together with Ivanishvili,” he said.

Regarding the visit of the President of Serbia to Georgia, the politician states that “in a situation where the current regime in Georgia has nowhere left to go and visits are limited at best to Central Asia, of course the arrival of the Serbian president from the heart of Europe is a great celebration for the ‘Dream’.”

“But I would also remind everyone who is celebrating that President Vučić himself faces major problems in Serbia. We must understand that Georgia’s only path is not relations with semi-democratic or questionable political regimes, but rather engagement with countries that are fully and unconditionally committed to democracy and where the rule of law is an indisputable reality - successful, economically developed countries,” Akhvlediani noted.