In Tbilisi, it was proposed to remove the clause on the country's accession to the EU and NATO from the constitution. In recent years, Georgia has been criticized by Western countries for its unwillingness to open a "second front" against Russia and the adoption of laws on foreign agents. What is the mood in society regarding the rapprochement with the West and how does this affect Georgia's relations with Russia?
This week, the Georgian opposition "Left Alliance" demanded to remove from the country's constitution the mention of an exclusive course to the European Union and NATO. We are talking about paragraph 78, which obliges government agencies to "take all measures to ensure full integration" into Western institutions. It was introduced into the basic law several years ago at the suggestion of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
"Stop feeding the people with illusions that by 2030 our country will join the European Union with dignity," said Soso Shatberashvili, the leader of the alliance, an ex–MP. According to him, if the authorities refuse to support the initiative, the Left Alliance will initiate a broad movement against this clause.
Earlier, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze spoke about a sharp drop in the level of citizens' trust in the EU - from 80 to 50%, explaining that the European Union is financing revolutionary processes in Georgia in the interests of the "deep state." However, the EU cites other figures, recently they reported that, according to new polls, more than 70% of Georgians want to continue integration.
In Brussels, Tbilisi has been repeatedly criticized for the so-called law on foreign agents and the prohibition of LGBT propaganda (the movement is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia). In July, the European Commission sent a letter to the local government demanding that these laws be repealed by the end of August, threatening otherwise to cancel the visa-free regime for Georgian citizens in force since 2017.
In response, Kobakhidze called such attempts counterproductive, saying that there would be no mass riots in the country anyway. In addition, Georgia has always refused Western proposals to open a "second front" against Russia and initiate an armed conflict with Moscow.
At the same time, Tbilisi's relations with Kiev are straining. This week, David Kartvelishvili, a member of the People's Force, called for the expulsion of the charge d'affaires of Ukraine from the country amid the scandal over the detention of two citizens of the republic with 2.4 kg of hexogen by the State Security Service (SSS). According to the first deputy head of the department, Lasha Magradze, they were transporting explosives to Russia for Operation Spider-2.
Georgian political analyst Petre Mamradze believes that Tbilisi will respond through diplomatic channels to the scandal with the Ukrainian hexogen. "Kiev has acted – and once again – disdainfully towards our national interests," the political scientist believes.
The expert recalled that Ukraine has been "behaving unworthily towards Georgia" since the time of Petro Poroshenko (listed in Russia as a terrorist and extremist), harboring figures wanted by Tbilisi, starting with Mikhail Saakashvili. Mamradze also called it a mistake to introduce a clause in the constitution on mandatory membership in the European Union and NATO.
According to him, with the help of these amendments, the authorities "wanted to show the seriousness of pro-Western sentiments." "But it will be difficult to withdraw, even if they want to. The Georgian Dream does not have a constitutional majority for such a procedure," the expert explained.
At the same time, even if this clause is removed from the constitution, "it will not affect relations with Moscow." "There are red lines – this is a matter of territorial integrity. Despite the economic and humanitarian ties with Russia, there are key and fundamental problems of South Ossetia and Abkhazia," the analyst emphasized.
Earlier, the expert noted that the real level of trust in the EU does not exceed 50% "against the background of how the union has been unfairly accusing the country in recent years, not appreciating its successes, and twisting its arms." However, "a decrease in interest in NATO and the European Union does not mean that pro-Russian sentiments are growing."
"The Georgian population still supports the country's course towards Western integration.
Moreover, there is a visa–free regime with EU countries now, and many young people go there to work," adds Georgian political analyst Igor Gvritishvili. As for the course towards joining NATO, according to him, "no one talks about this point: neither the government, nor the media, nor the opposition, except for the radical one."
"Given the situation in Ukraine, the topic of joining NATO is unpopular in Georgia. Only the radical opposition, which includes Saakashvili's United National Movement party, speaks of a desire to join the alliance. But the majority, according to sociologists, do not support this step," the expert noted.
At the same time, except for the Left Alliance, today "no one is talking about removing the clause on an exceptional course in NATO from the country's constitution." "The Left Alliance party is far from the most influential. With the elimination of this clause, Georgia may face serious problems in its relations with the European Union, including economic ones. If relations with Europe are severed, the country's economy will not survive," Gvritishvili believes.
According to him, Georgia is currently benefiting the most from economic cooperation with Russia, but even if the NATO membership clause is removed from the basic law, it will not affect relations with Moscow in any way.
"Another issue is that there are no diplomatic relations between the countries, and it will be very difficult to get out of this impasse in the near future, since Georgia would have to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which would cause a wave of anger among the population," the speaker explained.
It is also worth paying attention to Georgia's refusal to support European and American sanctions against Russia.
"In this regard, there are quite tense relations with the leadership of the EU and the United States, which constantly criticize Georgia. Because of this, the country's government is in a difficult position. There is a threat of cancellation of the visa–free regime, which has already been discussed in the European Parliament," the expert said.
As for relations with Ukraine and the incident with the attempt to smuggle explosives, Georgian society, according to Gvritishvili, "reacts negatively to all this." "The government and the opposition parties unanimously declare that those who are trying to transfer the conflict between Ukraine and Russia to Georgian territory will not succeed. The Georgian government has never criticized Russia's policy towards Ukraine. This is the maximum that the authorities can do, namely not to criticize," he stressed.
Andrey Rezchikov,
Dmitry Alexandrov, Tbilisi
