Michael Roth's brazen role in manupulations in the South Caucasus Unmasking the West's true agenda

To say that right now another cynical, brazen and deceitful hoax is taking place in Georgia before the eyes of the entire world is to say nothing. There is shameless pressure on the legitimately and democratically elected Georgian authorities. There is open and brazen interference in the internal affairs of Georgia. And behind all this is the collective West, whose goal is to plunge the entire South Caucasus into a state of controlled chaos.

To begin with, the Georgian parliament passed the law "On Transparency of Foreign Influence" in the third reading. The discussion took place amid protests and fights between MPs from the ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party and opposition parties that oppose the law. And if the matter had been limited only to the confrontation between representatives of the authorities and the opposition, everything would have settled down quickly in the end. But it is precisely this calm and peace in Georgia and the entire South Caucasus that certain external forces do not want.

At the heart of these concerns is President Salome Zourabichvili, whose French citizenship has raised eyebrows among some Georgians. Besides, she worked in the French Foreign Ministry system, was the third secretary of the French embassy in Italy, the second secretary of the French permanent mission to the United Nations, the first secretary of the French embassy in the United States, the first secretary of the French permanent mission to NATO, and deputy French permanent representative to the European Union. In 2003, Zurabishvili became the French Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Georgia. And in March 2004, then-Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili appointed Zurabishvili as Minister of Foreign Affairs. I remind you about all this to make it very clear whose directives Salome Zurabishvili is now implementing and in whose interests she is acting. These are not the interests of Georgia and the Georgian people. These are the interests of France and other countries.

Unsurprisingly, in a conversation with CNN, she already said she would veto the Foreign Agents Act, which has sparked widespread protests in the country. "We must use this mobilisation of society and this consolidation of political parties to go and win these elections because this is the European way," she said. With this, Zourabichvili only confirmed that her patrons have a plan "B" in case it is not possible now to achieve the overthrow of the legitimate Georgian government through street pressure. This plan will be implemented in October during the parliamentary elections, after which a new president will be elected by an electoral college.

But so far, we have seen a brazen attempt to implement Plan A. As you know, Hungary and Slovakia blocked a statement on behalf of all 27 EU member states regarding the adoption of a law on transparency of foreign influence in Georgia. Budapest and Bratislava acted honestly by nullifying the attempt to adopt yet another document that puts pressure on Georgia and is an undisguised interference in its internal affairs.

Now we already see that the foreign ministers of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Iceland have flown to Tbilisi to support the protests in the country. "We have arrived in Tbilisi, where there is another battle for democracy, freedom and European future," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis wrote on social media. The ministers plan meetings with representatives of the opposition and civil society. Simply put, they intend to encourage steps leading to a change of power in Georgia. This is not only unacceptable, it is also immoral.

And it is not surprising at all that Michael Roth, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag, has now resurfaced in Tbilisi. "Don't believe the lies and conspiracy theories. We are not radicals. You are not radicals. You are ordinary Europeans because you are fighting for what Europe represents - for democracy and freedom," he said. And it was a brazen manipulation, because people in Georgia remember very well what the European support for democracy was in August 2008, during the most tragic period of the modern history of this country. At that time, none of the representatives of the German leadership dared to come to Georgia. Michael Roth, who was already a member of the Bundestag, was not in Georgia in August 2008 either. And in this regard, let me remind you that the book of the third President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko, Non-State Secrets, is considered a world bestseller. Notes on the shores of memory". The section "Georgia 08.08.08", which is dedicated to the Russian-Georgian conflict. And there it is clearly indicated that V. Yushchenko together with the President of Lithuania V. Adamkus and the Presidents of Estonia and Poland, as well as the Prime Minister of Latvia went to Tbilisi in the midst of the war. Russia closed the airspace to their plane and they were forced to fly to Azerbaijan, from where they travelled to war-torn Georgia. Yes, Azerbaijan then allowed them to travel to a neighbouring war-torn country. And this is something that will never be forgotten in Georgia. Let me also recall the words voiced by ex-President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili to the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Azerbaijani people for supporting Georgia in August 2008: “The role of Azerbaijan in the events of 2008 is not sufficiently appreciated. A brotherly neighbouring state provided us with fuel and funding, which were critical to the country's survival. I would like to personally thank Ilham Aliyev and the Azerbaijani people.”

This is what help from true friends should be like. And how did the EU behave then? Brussels was simply cowardly. That is why what Michael Roth is saying now is a brazen, deceitful, primitive manipulation. However, we should not have expected anything else from him. After all, Michael Roth is a long-time denigrator of Azerbaijan; he supported Armenia’s occupation policy towards our country. In April 2021, Roth responded with a false speech to a question from Azerbaijani parliament member Rafael Huseynov about deaths in mined areas and the need to hand over maps of minefields. He then avoided a direct answer, refused to criticize Armenia, focusing on voicing another portion of lies against our country. And at the end of September last year, after the completion of the counter-terrorism operation in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, Michael Roth again cast his vote. “Ethnic Armenians are fleeing to Armenia. Nagorno-Karabakh will soon become ‘free of Armenians’. The EU is watching Azerbaijan achieve its goal of ethnic cleansing,” he wrote on his microblog X.

And this was the standard of stupidity, lies, hypocrisy, cynicism. This was a slander against all those Azerbaijanis who were expelled from Armenia more than 30 years ago. Yes, this is where the real ethnic cleansing took place, as a result of which not a single Azerbaijani was left there. As for the Karabakh Armenians, they are holders of passports of another state - Armenia. Yes, the same one that kept 20 per cent of the territories of Azerbaijan under occupation for over a quarter of a century. But, of course, Roth did not voice any of this, obvious and true. And this manipulator is now broadcasting on the streets of Tbilisi, inciting the protesters to provocations, which is the goal of those who are so fond of creating chaos in order to control it.

Seeing all this, it becomes clear what role all these forces have assigned to the so-called "independent media outlets" in our country. I would like to remind that Anar Mammadli, head of the "Election Monitoring and Democratic Education Centre" was prosecuted under Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan (smuggling committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy). Several articles have already appeared in the national media that A. Mammadli, who has been working as an "election expert" since 2001, is an "agent of influence" of the West in Azerbaijan and has become a "grant tycoon" due to his services. Why were such conditions created for him? The question is rhetorical. In addition, all these “Abzats Media” and other media, the existence of which not only ordinary Azerbaijanis but also many national journalists with many years of experience had not heard of before the arrest of their leaders, were needed to provide information support for the steps of France, the US and the EU to immerse The South Caucasus is in a state of controlled chaos.

Why were such conditions created for him? The question is rhetorical. In addition, all these "Abzats Media" and similar media outlets appeared for a reason. Their creation was part of a strategy aimed at manipulating information to achieve goals in matters relating to the South Caucasus. These media tools have silently infiltrated the information space to support the actions of France, the US and the EU aimed at creating controlled chaos in the region. This was done to achieve certain political and geopolitical goals that required such influence on public opinion and events in the South Caucasus.

These forces do not care about the peace and prosperity of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. They do not need strong, independent and prosperous states anywhere, including the South Caucasus. They want states weakened by wars and problems, led by puppets of the West. And now on the streets of Tbilisi they are inciting the crowd to follow this very path.

The views and opinions expressed by guest columnists in their op-eds may differ from and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff.