Georgia’s ruling party official accuses Brussels of seeking to replace ruling party after Georgia rejected proxy role

Levan Machavariani, the First Deputy Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream parliamentary faction, on Wednesday said that the European Union needed Georgia more than Georgia needed the EU, citing the growing strategic importance of the Middle Corridor transport route.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Machavariani noted that Brussels would have to accept that Georgian Dream could not be replaced either through elections or revolution, adding that the EU would eventually have to engage in dialogue with the Georgian authorities.

He stressed that Brussels would have to accept that its agents in Georgia would not be able to advance the interests of external powers.

When we talk about their [the opposition’s] patrons, particularly Brussels and its ruling elite, we have witnessed so much injustice, such inconsistent actions on their part over the past four to five years, such a torrent of disinformation and such a degree of bias that it is difficult to imagine anything worse. They have exposed themselves for what they are”, the official said.

“Today, the overwhelming majority of the public understands what was going on: they are sponsoring an agent network in Georgia, and everything is easy to decipher. We refused to allow Georgia to be used as a proxy, and that is why their patrons wanted to replace Georgian Dream. On the one hand, they sought to do so through elections, when they believed they had a chance to do so. That is why they ran the entire election campaign for the opposition and sent Members of the European Parliament to Georgia”, he continued.

Machavariani further claimed that attempts to replace Georgian Dream through elections had failed and alleged that there had also been five or six attempts to stage a revolution in recent years.

The official further highlighted the Middle Corridor’s growing importance amid the war between Russia and Ukraine, which has disrupted the Northern Corridor, and persistent problems affecting the Southern Corridor.

He argued that external actors wanted Georgia, a key country along the Middle Corridor, to be governed in line with their interests rather than its national interests.

“Given the importance of the Middle Corridor, they will have to accept that they cannot replace us either through revolution or through elections, and they will have to sit down and talk with us, because the EU now needs Georgia more than Georgia needs the EU”, Machavariani concluded.