Former PM: Georgian Dream preparing ground for refusing NATO membership

Georgia’s Former Prime Minister and leader of the “For Georgia” party Giorgi Gakharia has said that the government is preparing the ground for refusing NATO membership.

“Naming the desire for NATO membership as the reason for Russian aggression is a Russian narrative and another proof that the government of Georgia is occupied by Russia. The authorities are preparing the ground for the rejection of NATO membership under the false narrative of ‘second front’ and ‘neutrality’,” the former PM said, Georgia Today reports.

He also noted that the European Union and NATO membership is a guarantee of peace, statehood and territorial integrity of Georgia.

Earlier, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili stated at the discussion held at the Global Security Forum that “one of the reasons” for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was the latter’s intention to join NATO.

Western partners of Georgia responded and criticised the statements made by Garibashvili.

After that, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili explained Irakli Garibashvili’s statement on Twitter in English.

As Papuashvili writes in a post, Garibashvili’s statement that NATO expansion was one of the reasons for Russia to invade Ukraine has led to different and largely false or intentionally distorted interpretations.