“Cambolov is the Kremlin’s preferred candidate and will most likely win, although beyond that, I do not expect any further process in terms of unification with North Ossetia,” Akaki Bobokhidze, one of the leaders of European Georgia, said in response to the so-called presidential election currently underway in Georgia’s occupied Tskhinvali region.

Speaking on PalitraNews’ program “Day Newsroom,” the politician said that “as a result of the Georgian government’s actions, we have become a laughing stock among Abkhazians and Ossetians.”

“Because of the shameful actions of the Georgian government, we have become a laughing stock among both Ossetians and Abkhazians. A few days ago, Cambolov said in an interview that ‘South Ossetia is not ready for and has no interest in opening the border with Georgia.’ Do you understand what state the country has been brought to by the government’s actions? Apparently, we are now the ones who have to ask and beg for the border to be opened, while they supposedly have no need for any relations with us.

“The Georgian Dream does not perceive Russia as a threat; rather, it considers Russia an ally when it comes to retaining power. Without Russia’s success, it will be difficult for the Georgian Dream to retain power. When we introduced a visa-free regime with Russia, first of all, it was intended for people from the North Caucasus, and anti-Putin Russians were practically the ones coming to Georgia. We opened the border so that they could see what a non-Soviet country could look like and what a new Georgia could be like. Did you ever see a Russian during our time in government complaining in a shop because they were not answered in Russian? Today, Russians come to Georgia not as a foreign country but as if it were their own home. They make demands and argue, saying, ‘Why aren’t you answering us in Russian?’ Today they come here as if it were their own home, and the Georgian Dream has turned Georgia into that home for them,” Bobokhidze said.

Regarding “Russophobia” in Georgia and relations with Russia and Russians at both the state-to-state and people-to-people levels, Bobokhidze said that Russia being Georgia’s immediate neighbor does not mean that Georgia cannot exist without Russians.

“Did Yeltsin and Putin physically come to Abkhazia and Tskhinvali to wage war? Weren’t there Russian people? When the war in Ukraine began, when there were celebrations in Russia, weren’t those Russian people? Aren’t the people who are fighting in Ukraine today and committing atrocities Russians?

“It is the Russian people who provide support for precisely this kind of policy — a policy based on servility, lack of protest and a focus on ruining other countries. Russians have turned their own country into a pigsty, and now those who have fled from there are introducing their own rules here; in other words, they want to turn our country into a pigsty as well.

“[Abkhazians] mock us and tell us that we are their slaves, that this is the contribution imposed on the defeated side in the war, and that they are entitled to free electricity because we lost the war. When fuel is supplied, can anyone guarantee that it will not go directly to the occupiers? The Georgian government is taking no steps. Russia being our immediate neighbor does not mean that it is impossible to live without Russians,” Bobokhidze said.

Bobokhidze also spoke about developments within the opposition. According to him, the opposition has not done even a tenth of what is necessary to exert real pressure on the government.

“What is happening in society is not fatigue; it is more a sense of disappointment and a lack of expectations. This is caused by the opposition spectrum’s lack of preparedness and lack of agreement. The issue is not simply that we should unite. We cannot even agree on issues where we do not have fundamentally different positions, because political leaders have political ambitions and want to be the only ones in charge.

“Any coalition without the United National Movement is incomplete, although its participation creates problems because some people believe that a coalition necessarily means joining the United National Movement. Today, the United National Movement is not in a position to get things done without other parties, and neither is Mikheil Saakashvili in such a position. There are also problems caused by political parties that are helping the enemy’s cause [the Free People’s Party].

“The non-recognition policy has not produced results. People do not believe that we will be able to force the authorities to call snap elections. We have not done even a tenth of what is necessary to exert real pressure on the government, yet we want to achieve a result by following a path we have already taken, and that path is not sufficient. We cannot succeed without one another,” Bobokhidze said.