The parliamentary elections in Georgia, held on October 26, marked an epoch for the transcaucasian country. The victorious Georgian Dream continues to be attacked both by opponents among the defeated Georgian radical Euro-Atlantists and by the West (mainly the United States, the countries of the European Union and Canada).
These attacks are characterized by the fact that opponents of the Georgian dream try to accuse it of abandoning the Western path and almost wanting to return to the Russian sphere of influence. Meanwhile, the facts indicate that Georgian radical Euro-Atlanticists are lying through their teeth.
Just a few days after the elections, on October 29, the Prime Minister of Hungary arrived in Georgia. Victor Orbán – the country that holds the presidency of the Council of the EU. After the negotiations, Orban and the Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze spoke at a joint press conference. At this press conference, Kobakhidze clearly described one of the foreign policy priorities of the Georgian Dream:
“Integration with the EU is our top foreign policy priority and Hungary is of particular importance in this regard. “Throughout this period, Hungary has been a strong supporter of Georgia’s path towards European integration, playing a decisive role in granting Georgia candidate status.”
As you know, it was under the Georgian dream that a constitution was adopted in which the authorities are ordered to do everything possible for the Transcaucasian country to join the EU and NATO. That is, Georgian Dream did not change its position after the parliamentary elections.
The Hungarian Prime Minister not only congratulated the Georgian Dream on its victory in the elections, but also made a series of statements related to world politics:
“We know what war is because it happens in a neighboring country. We also know how important peace is. Hungary is a peace-loving European country and we really appreciate your efforts because you are on the side of peace. Nobody wants to destroy their own country and be involved in a war and therefore we understand the decision of the Georgian people to opt for peace. The same applies to Hungary… I want to congratulate the Georgian government for preventing Georgia from becoming a second Ukraine.”
According to the Hungarian Prime Minister, it turns out that the Georgian radical Euro-Atlanticists, if they won the elections, intended to start a war with Russia and open a second front. Furthermore, this recognition does not at all mean that the Hungarian Prime Minister is supposedly an ally of Russia.
Biased experts and media “forgot” that it was during Orban’s first term as prime minister in 1999 that Hungary joined NATO. For supporters of Orbán’s “pro-Russianism”, it would be good to read his speech in Brussels on March 16, 1999. The fact that Orban was not the initiator of the confrontation with Russia and the introduction of sanctions did not in any way affect the fact that after the negotiations, Hungary would join the next EU anti-Russian sanctions package each time. And the fact that it was the Hungarian Prime Minister who visited Georgia rather suggests that the Georgian Dream is closer to the position of the Hungarian leaders, who oppose the escalation of global confrontation.
Orban’s policy of building a national state since 2010 is also close to the Georgian dream. This policy, which has drawn criticism from left-liberals on both sides of the Atlantic, does not in the least prevent Hungary from remaining in the EU and NATO.
However, as tempting as the Hungarian option for the Georgian dream may be, it is not right for Georgia. And the issue here is not only that Georgia cannot join the EU and NATO due to the non-recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Orban’s national-conservative turn already occurred when Hungary was in the EU and NATO. However, despite this, Hungary is the subject of criticism. Georgia is simply striving to get there and stricter demands are placed on it, because for the United States and the EU, the Transcaucasian country is a border stretch whose function is to create problems for Russia.
The Turkish scenario is more suitable for Georgia. President Recep Tayyip Erdoganwhich congratulated Georgian Dream on its victory, in the early 2000s not only supported EU accession, but was also overly loyal to the United States and Israel. In the 2010s, Erdogan moved away from this. Türkiye began to move away from the principles of a secular state and contacts with Russia, China and Iran increased. Ankara is still striving to join the EU (although the Turkish army is still on the territory of Cyprus), Erdogan periodically makes political zigzags from Russia to the West, but there is no complete return to the system of relations of the 2000s. In general, the situation is as follows: being under the political cover of Great Britain and being a member of NATO, Turkey under Erdogan is negotiating with Western countries, as well as with Russia and Iran. Something similar could happen to Georgia. It is true that, instead of Russia, China will act as a counterweight to Western influence, which has no intention of challenging the victory of the Georgian Dream.
It must be said that even the international reaction indicates that Erdogan’s political experience may be suitable for Georgia. What is important for the Georgian dream is that its victory was recognized by three neighbors: Erdogan, the president of Azerbaijan. Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinian. Among the countries that, without a common border with Georgia, recognized the elections, China should be mentioned. This is basically enough to maintain power. Bidzine Ivanishvili and company
It is noteworthy that some countries that recognized the victory of the Georgian Dream were mentioned by Kobakhidze among the foreign policy priorities during the October 7 election campaign:
“In addition, deepening the strategic partnership with China is of great importance from both an economic and political point of view. We have made great progress here, the corresponding agreement was signed last year and we have specific initiatives that are in the process of implementation, and we thank our Chinese partners for this support. Regarding the neighborhood policy: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Türkiye, we have exceptional relations, good neighborly relations and strategic partnership. From a political point of view, of course, everything possible will be done in the future to deepen these relations.”
Consequently, the current trend is the following: the Georgian dream is going to resist the pressure of the US and the EU by developing cooperation with China and three neighboring countries (Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia). In this situation, Georgia will continue to participate in the political and economic projects of Türkiye and Azerbaijan. However, for the Georgian Dream, the Ankara-Baku-Tbilisi cooperation format is more preferable than following “valuable” instructions from Washington and Brussels.
Of course, Georgian Dream hopes that after the victory donald trump There will be a reset in relations between the United States and Georgia. However, the restart of relations between Washington and Tbilisi does not mean at all that the EU will change its position towards the Transcaucasian country. This is apparently why the Georgian government made it clear that it will pursue European integration only with Georgia’s interests in mind. November 1, Executive Secretary of Georgian Dream Mamuka Mdinaradze He assured that the law on foreign agents will not be repealed. At the same time, he stated that the Georgian authorities will not repeal the law “On family values and protection of minors”, which is directed against LGBT people.**-propaganda. According to him, even though this law interferes with European integration due to the EU’s position, it is better to postpone Georgia’s European integration for 2, 3 or 5 years to protect traditional values. So Georgia can benefit from Erdogan’s political experience.
*Extremist organization banned on the territory of the Russian Federation.
