Georgian opposition sacrificing national interests for Western alliances and Armenia Opinion by Vladimir Tskhvediani

On January 15, the Georgian opposition organized a so-called "warning strike," which lasted for three hours and involved about 160 companies, mostly Western ones like McDonald's. In some areas, the opposition's actions sparked outrage among the public, who were dissatisfied with the street blockages caused by the strike participants. However, strategic enterprises were not affected by the strike. It was announced that the strike could be repeated on a larger scale. According to the organizers, the action aims to show "what awaits Georgia in conditions of isolation — a stalled economy, closed businesses, poverty, and unemployment."

On the same day, former president Salome Zourabichvili, in a post on social media platform X, effectively explained the reason why she and the opposition are leading Georgia toward such an economic catastrophe. Zourabichvili not only enthusiastically welcomed the signing of the Strategic Partnership Charter between the U.S. and Armenia on January 14, 2025, but also expressed hope that such a partnership would be restored between the U.S. and Georgia.

"This strategic partnership between the USA and Armenia marks a historic step forward, benefiting both our region and its stability and peace. Georgia will also restore its strategic partnership with the USA once new elections ensure that the will of the people is fulfilled," wrote the former president of Georgia.

The most interesting thing is that on the same day, January 15, a message from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was circulated on social media, claiming a so-called "balanced foreign policy" pursued by the Republic of Armenia. Special attention was given to Armenia's "strategic partnership" with Georgia and the U.S. "Our relations with Georgia are in the orbit of strategic partnership, opening new prospects and potential for development...Our friendship with France has strengthened and evolved. Our relations with the European Union are closer than ever before, which is recorded also in Brussels. A strategic partnership has been launched with the United States of America," wrote Nikol Pashinyan. Essentially, the Armenian prime minister made it clear that the Republic of Armenia, in its revanchism, hopes for a kind of "chain of strategic partnerships" between Washington, Paris, Brussels, Tbilisi, and Yerevan.

Not long ago, there was a real danger of forming such a "chain," in which Georgia would play an unenviable role as expendable material in the geopolitical games of others, serving the interests of Armenian revanchists. On November 12, 2023, armored personnel carriers "Bastion," produced by the French company "Acmat," arrived at the Georgian port of Poti, intended for the Armenian Armed Forces. In December 2023, with France's backing, Georgia was granted candidate status for EU membership. Analysts at that time already linked France's lobbying for Georgia's "European prospects" with the transit of military equipment through Georgian territory to Armenia. And in January 2024, the Prime Ministers of Georgia and Armenia, Irakli Garibashvili and Nikol Pashinyan, signed a memorandum on the establishment of a "strategic partnership."

The most interesting thing is that during this period, the pro-Western opposition did not particularly criticize the Georgian Dream party. Georgia was gradually being "pulled" into dangerous Armenian-French-American military ventures.

However, questions began to arise in Georgian society regarding the alignment of national interests with turning the country into a "military corridor" for supplying Western weapons to Armenia. Especially since the Republic of Armenia had no intention of abandoning its revanchist policy, actively arming itself and preparing for a "big war" that threatened the vital East-West transit route for Georgia.

The ruling party, Georgian Dream, made the right conclusions, and in February 2024, Irakli Garibashvili was replaced as Prime Minister by Irakli Kobakhidze, a supporter of consistently defending Georgia's national interests. In order to reduce the destructive influence of the West on Georgia's internal situation through NGOs and make it more transparent, in the spring of 2024, the ruling party Georgian Dream introduced the "Foreign Agent" law to parliament, which was swiftly adopted.

It was at that time that the pro-Western opposition and Salome Zourabichvili "went off the rails," starting to organize mass street protests and attempts to seize the parliament. The first attempt to overthrow the legitimate government in May 2024 failed. But by then, it had already become clear that the pro-Western opposition, lacking sufficient support in Georgian society for a fair victory in the elections, had shifted its course towards a coup.

This became apparent after the elections on October 26, 2024, where Georgian Dream won a convincing victory, securing the trust of Georgian society. After Irakli Kobakhidze announced on November 28 that Georgia would suspend negotiations with the EU on full membership for at least four years, the opposition again tried to spark a "Maidan," while the U.S. suspended the strategic partnership agreement with Georgia on November 30.

The failure of the Maidan in Georgia did not calm either Salome Zourabichvili or the opposition. Clearly, the West demands from its puppets not only to drag Georgia into a confrontation and war with Russia, to "crash against Russia," but also to force Georgia, by any means, into an adventurous "strategic" military corridor to Armenia.

This is precisely why Zourabichvili pays such close attention to the very fact of the strategic partnership agreement between Armenia and the U.S., and she hopes for the restoration of a strategic partnership between Georgia and the U.S. once again, in the interests of Armenia. For the sake of this geopolitical adventure, Zourabichvili and the opposition, at the behest of the West, are willing to "tear apart" Georgia's economy through sabotage and strikes, plunging the country into poverty.

Meanwhile, it is in Georgia’s interest to strengthen cooperation with Türkiye and Azerbaijan, both of which undoubtedly respect the choice of the Georgian people, as well as the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is no coincidence that on January 17, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze arrived in Azerbaijan for a working visit, marking the first foreign trip by the Georgian head of government since the parliamentary elections on October 26, 2024. Under the leadership of the Prime Ministers of Georgia and Azerbaijan, the 10th session of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation is being held in Baku.

Today, Georgia faces a crucial decision: to continue fostering mutually beneficial relations with Azerbaijan and Türkiye or to engage in the West's and Yerevan's reckless ventures. It is clear which path is unequivocally in Georgia's and its people's best interest. At the same time, for Armenia, any agreements on "strategic partnerships" with the U.S. and "Eurointegration" plans lose their significance without a logistical connection through Georgian territory.

Moreover, the absurd plans for a "strategic military corridor" through Georgia, intended to provoke a revanchist war, could prove catastrophic for the Armenian people and Armenian statehood. Should these plans be pursued, as they have been throughout history, Western "allies" will not come to Armenia's aid in time. The "corridor" through a poverty-stricken Georgia, a result of the adventures of Zourabichvili and the pro-Western opposition, may only serve Armenian revanchists as an escape route from the South Caucasus.

Vladimir Tskhvediani, Georgia, for Caliber.Az