"Whether you compare them to neighboring countries, previous administrations, or Georgian Dream's past prime ministers and presidents, the picture is clear: when it comes to the US, EU member states, or institutions, the absolute most they can achieve is presenting a chance photo of the 'curly-haired one' alongside von der Leyen as a breakthrough in their isolation from the free world," Zurab "Girchi" Japaridze, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change, writes on social media.

Japaridze discusses Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze's visit to the US for the UN General Assembly and reflects on the UN-related engagements of leaders from neighboring states and Georgia's own leaders across various periods. According to him, Georgian Dream is trying to portray the visit as a "breakthrough of isolation," though the reality is different.

At the same time, the opposition politician calls on citizens to attend the march scheduled for today. This time, the "illegitimate ones" are trying to demonstrate—through meetings held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and photos taken alongside various leaders—that their isolation has been broken and that they have been accepted into civilized society.

“Everything in this world is relative, and I, too, have drawn a few comparisons:

However, one caveat is necessary upfront: when I (or we) speak of their isolation, we mean isolation from the free world—from the USA, EU member states, EU institutions, and other democratic nations. Isolation from Dushanbe, Tashkent, or Ashgabat is neither implied nor of any interest.

Who did Kobakhidze meet with at this year's UN General Assembly?

The President of Turkey and the Prime Minister of Armenia—he could meet them much closer to home; a trek all the way to New York wasn't necessary for that.

The President of Nauru—to create the illusion of working on de-occupation.

The President of Serbia—they swapped Orbán for Vučić to show that there is at least someone in Europe willing to shake their hands.

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office—who meets with everyone precisely by virtue of that position, although they tried to spin this as a meeting with the Swiss Foreign Minister (which is also his role).

The UN Secretary-General—who also meets with everyone by virtue of his position.

The Secretary General of the Council of Europe—who also has a declared policy of meeting with everyone; he even visited Tbilisi.

That is all.

Not a single meeting with a leader of an EU member state. Not a single meeting with the head of any EU institution (the Council of Europe is not an EU institution). Not a single meeting with any high-ranking US political official.

Now let’s look at Pashinyan:

Turkey, Iran, Georgia—neighbors, which we can consider a formality.

The Prime Minister of Thailand.

The UN Secretary-General, the OSCE Secretary-General (they meet with everyone).

The Prime Minister of Greece, the President of Finland, the Prime Minister of Slovenia, the President of Romania—four EU member countries.

Ursula von der Leyen— President of the European Commission.

Head of Investments at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)

Meeting at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT—you can Google what kind of university that is)

Meeting with the Secretary-General of the Digital Development Organization

Meeting at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Participation in a panel discussion at the Concordia Summit regarding the TRIPP project (you know, the corridor connecting Asia and Europe—the one that bypasses us; that’s what the discussion was about)

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister (Aliyev didn’t go) held 37 bilateral meetings

But okay, let’s set Armenia and Azerbaijan aside and look at Georgia’s previous administrations:

In 2000, Shevardnadze attended the UN General Assembly and:

Met with the UN Secretary-General (he met with everyone), the presidents of Iran and Turkey (okay, they are neighbors), the Prime Minister of Japan (!), the Prime Minister of Ireland, and the U.S. Secretary of State (!)

In the year 2000, when we lacked electricity, water, natural gas—we had a budget of perhaps 800 million GEL; corruption devours everything; we are essentially an uncultivated field—and yet, Shevardnadze meets with Madeleine Albright.

Let’s move a bit further forward in time.

In 2010, Saakashvili attended the UN General Assembly and:

Met with the presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Senegal (I have no idea why :)), as well as the presidents of Lithuania, Finland, Cyprus, and Croatia;

Also met with Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State;

Also met with Donald Trump (Trump was just a businessman back then, but still);

Do you sense the difference?

Let me continue. Let’s set aside Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the previous administrations.

Let’s look at the Prime Ministers and Presidents from the Georgian Dream era—specifically from the period when the party's Russian brazenness and cruelty were still unnoticed by many in this country.

Giorgi Margvelashvili attended the UN General Assembly in 2015 and met with:

The Presidents of Lithuania, Latvia, Croatia, and Poland; Congress members and Senators Nancy Pelosi, John McCain, Bob Corker, and Ben Cardin; as well as the Presidents of the European Central Bank and the World Bank.

Salome Zourabichvili, 2019, same event:

Presidents of Finland, Romania, and Latvia; Prime Minister of Norway; President of the European Council; + Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Barbados; + UN Secretary-General (she met with all of them); + President of Ukraine; + attended Trump’s diplomatic reception.

This turned out a bit long, but to summarize:

Whether you compare them to neighboring countries, to previous administrations, or even to the previous Prime Ministers and Presidents from Georgian Dream itself, the picture is clear: when it comes to the US, EU member states, or EU institutions, the best they can do is present a photo of the "curly" accidentally standing next to von der Leyen as a breakthrough in their isolation from the free world.

Well, Macron has patted him on the back twice, too.

P.S. Today at 19:00, at TSU," writes Zurab Girchi Japaridze.