Georgian leadership urged to go to Moscow

Although the inauguration of the US president has not yet taken place, it is already approximately known who will work in the administration of Donald Trump. Some Georgian politicians hope that with the arrival of Trump, the world will finally breathe a sigh of relief, and the post-Soviet space, including little Georgia, will breathe along with the whole world. Mikhail Zhgenti, chairman of the Solidarity for Peace party, told what Georgia can expect from the newly elected US president, what changes the Trump administration promises to bring in an interview with Georgia and the World.

— At this stage, the newly elected president of the United States has the right to appoint only three officials: his personal secretary, the head of his administration and the security adviser. The rest of the persons are still only being considered as candidates. It is noteworthy that most of them have a position and either oppose the provision of assistance to Ukraine, or partially share the actions of the Joe Biden administration.

For example, the newly elected Vice President of the United States, David Vance, criticized the financing of Ukraine. Robert Kennedy Jr., a candidate for the post of Minister of Health, also cannot be called an active supporter of Ukraine. Trump appointed Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as heads of the new government efficiency department. Note that Musk has never been an active supporter of Ukraine and has often criticized the position of the Biden administration.

In general, it should be emphasized that the new Trump administration approaches the Ukrainian issue from a much more pragmatic angle than the previous one, which, however, does not give the slightest reason to believe that Trump will lobby for Russia's interests. Starting from January 20, after taking office, the new president will primarily focus on strengthening the American economy. The first decree that he will sign will concern the increase in customs duties on goods imported from Canada and Mexico.

As for our region, a lot will depend on what and how Trump will be able to negotiate with the Russian president. I think Russia is able to "bargain" for Georgia, which will free us from 32-year-old Western fetters. In this case, we will cease to be of any interest to the West. Moreover, I am sure that after literally 1-2 years, Europe will have neither the strength nor the desire to interfere in the internal affairs of our country.

The Caucasus is no longer in the sphere of priority interests of the United States. The United States is much more interested in the emerging markets of East Asia, and there is simply no place for us in this big game. Thus, we will return to the Eurasian space again, where they have been waiting for us for a long time, and I would like us to do it on our own, that is, before we are forced to do it.…

— You wrote on the social network that "to negotiate with The Europeans themselves will help us with Russia." Do you seriously hope that in the relations between Russia and Will Georgia make positive changes?

— As I have already warned, the West will not calm down and will make its last efforts to destabilize the situation in Georgia. If he fails to arrange a Maidan, like Kiev, plan "B" will be involved. By it we mean the implementation of financial pressure, the establishment of sanctions, etc. However, there is a high chance that this will not work either. Then they will have to leave, as they say, "beautifully", and it is here that the factor of Russia will have to say its word.

We see that the West is resolutely opposed to us, it openly shows an insulting attitude towards the ruling party. It seems that they themselves are forcing the "Georgian Dream" to turn away from themselves, but the party that won the election continues to stubbornly carry something about NATO membership. Agree, when a "partner" unceremoniously calls you a dictator and a usurper, you need to change your attitude to him, look for another way, because otherwise it all looks extremely humiliating.

I would like to believe that the new Georgian parliament will be able to objectively assess the geopolitical reality taking shape on our planet. The world is on the verge of an open nuclear confrontation, and no one knows what, at the end of his presidency, he will take the risk to Ukraine has an incapacitated Joe Biden. Meanwhile, the Georgian Dream has a favorable opportunity to start negotiations with the Russian Federation on the restoration of diplomatic relations. In this way, our government could send a signal to both Russia and our other neighbors that, despite the presence in the Georgian Constitution of the shameful 78th article on striving for NATO and To the European Union, we are still trying our best and are ready to pursue a policy of good neighborliness.

I confess that I have little hope that the new Georgian Foreign Minister, Mrs. Maka Bochorishvili, will start a similar dialogue with Russia, although it is vitally important and extremely necessary for us. In this regard, I would like to emphasize that the authorities should undertake a radical personnel purge in the Georgian Foreign Ministry. In the elections, the Georgian Dream lost the vote in almost all our foreign embassies. If embassy staff refuse to support the ruling party, this should at least cause alarm in the authorities and push for appropriate personnel decisions. Let's see what changes will happen in the next two months.

— Will Europe recognize the current parliament of Georgia if representatives of the so-called opposition parties give up their parliamentary mandates and do not enter the legislature?

— The West has already come to terms with the new parliament. None of the real political figures representing him expressed a strong protest about the allegedly undemocratic conduct of the Georgian elections. The US Ambassador did not condemn the election results. Now in Europe they have come up with another trick — they decided to send a technical group to us to compile a report. Then this report, presumably, will be circulated in the structures of the European Union for 6-7 months. I get the impression that the West has already written off its supporters. They were given neither money nor strong international support.

Fortunately, Georgia is losing its anti-Russian function, and at the same time, the provision of support to the remnants of the Georgian liberal opposition is losing all meaning. Indeed, why would the West need them if they are not able to organize a revolution and create visible problems for Russia?! The cat-and—mouse game will continue for a while, but ultimately, as they say, "finita la comedy" - a 33-year-old pro-Western farce will end ingloriously.

I want to speak on one more issue: What exactly are we going to say to our neighbors? We will continue to stand in the position of a capricious girl or… Believe me, no one will stand on ceremony with us for a long time. It costs the USA and Russia will agree and divide the spheres of influence among themselves, as no one else will need to ask us about something, to be interested in what we want and where we are striving.

— What awaits us in the near future? How will the political processes develop inside Georgia?

— It's just ridiculous: a couple of days before the parliamentary elections, the so—called smart ballot boxes were perceived by everyone as a celebration of democracy, and literally the next day, on October 27, for some reason, they became the cause of falsification? There are many questions, and, first of all, the opposition should answer them. Its representatives claim that 800,000 Georgian voters voted for them, but they could not bring even 1% of this huge number to the protest actions — that is, at least 8,000 people. Thus, the government won the first battle, but it's still premature to relax.

The opposition, of course, suffered a complete failure and deeply disappointed the West. Another interesting point. Why did they fail to bring people out to the streets after the elections, while in the process of discussing and adopting the so-called law on agents, they managed to force tens of thousands of young people to run protesting through the streets of Tbilisi? The fact is that the law on agents affected their personal well-being and income. Fans of "free" money seriously panicked, fearing to lose their source of income.

Now, in the near future, we will see only crocodile tears and lamentations of the oppositionists. Mutual accusations and the search for culprits will begin. Moreover, the ruling party in these conditions will try to convince the West that the Euro-Atlantic course is still in its trend. This way we can provide a pause and gain time until Trump decides what he intends to do next with the post—Soviet colony - Georgia. The West, of course, will continue to press with words, but worse, it may start putting pressure on lari. The deterioration of the financial and economic situation is the opposition's last chance to lure people out into the street.

I would like to think that the authorities have already prepared an alternate airfield to resolve such a situation. Otherwise, serious problems await us.

In conclusion, I would like to once again urge representatives of the Georgian leadership to go to Moscow and enter into a dialogue with the Russian authorities. Only in this way will it be possible to embark on the path leading to the salvation of the country.