Ex-president: Russia achieved significant ideological victory in Georgia

Georgian ex-President Giorgi Margvelashvili has remarked that Russia secured a major ideological win in Georgia through the enactment of the foreign agent law.

The geopolitical significance of Georgia cannot be overstated. As a predominantly Christian nation with a population of 3.7 million, Georgia offers the only alternative route to Russia for Central Asian and Azerbaijani trade with the West, including oil, gas, and other commodities, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Among the former Soviet republics, Georgia is one of only three—along with Ukraine and Moldova—to hold EU candidate status. Historically, it has been the most steadfast pro-Western stronghold in the region, positioned between authoritarian Russia, Türkiye, and Iran.

“We have had political differences in Georgia, sometimes they were very harsh, but no matter these differences, all the governments that were here were clearly pro-Western,” said Margvelashvili, a onetime ally of former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. 

“Now this is the first time that the government is changing the geopolitical orientation of the nation,” he added. “For Russia ideologically this is a huge, huge win.” Recognizing Georgia’s drift away from the West, last month’s annual NATO summit declaration didn’t mention the country’s prospects for membership, the first such omission since 2008. Contacts on joining the EU have also been frozen. 

The US, which imposed visa sanctions on top members of Georgian Dream earlier this year, suspended $95 million in aid to the Georgian government in July and is considering restrictions on long-standing defense cooperation. In a notable public address at a pro-government rally in Tbilisi in late April, Ivanishvili, who had lived in Moscow for decades and once held a Russian passport, accused the "global war party" in the West of attempting to destabilize his government.

According to Ivanishvili, the primary reason for this effort is Georgia's refusal to become "cannon fodder" and open "a second front" against Russia. Protests in Georgia over the foreign agent law have strained Tbilisi's relations with Western countries. The Georgian government’s decision to uphold the law has prompted the West to impose sanctions and halt Georgia's EU integration efforts.