Putin's lackeys are about to succeed

Vladimir Putin
Putin's lackeys seem to be succeeding

Wolfgang Hansson

This is a commenting text. Analysis and positions are the writer's.

Published 14.27

Quick version

• Georgia's government has suspended all membership negotiations with the EU, causing widespread protests among the population who want to see the country as part of the EU.
• The Georgian government has introduced laws similar to Russia's, such as the agent law and anti-gay laws, raising concerns about the country's rapprochement with Russia instead of the EU.
• The EU questions Georgia's recent election results and is considering sanctions, while Russia welcomes the development as a way to deter other former Soviet republics from seeking closer ties with the West..

Georgia is about to become the next hotbed of conflict between Russia and the West.

Just like with Ukraine, Vladimir Putin wants to prevent Georgia from becoming a member of the EU and NATO.

It looks like his lackeys are well on their way to success.

          

         See the chaos in Georgia - water cannons and fires

When the government of Georgia announced yesterday that they are pausing all membership negotiations with the EU, it was really just a confirmation that the country itself is about to punish itself.

That it still caused thousands of protesters to take to the streets is due to the fact that, according to opinion polls, 80 percent of Georgians want the country to become a member of the EU. They now watch with anger and despair as those in power instead move in the direction of Russia.

One of those who went to the front of the demonstration train was the country's president Salome Zourabichvili, who accuses the government of having "declared war against its own people".

Salome Zourabichvili participates in the protests. Photo: Zurab Tsertsvadze / AP

She and the others confronted the riot police and questioned whether they were serving Georgia or Russia. The police responded with water cannons, pepper spray and tear gas.

The president only serves until the turn of the year, when she is replaced by a regime-loyal former parliamentarian with anti-Western views.

Then the leading party Georgia's Dream has completed its 180-degree turn, called by many a coup, and is running at full speed towards Moscow instead of Brussels.

It already started earlier this year when the regime pushed through an agent law that classifies organizations that receive money from abroad as foreign agents. The law is more or less a copy of the law that Russia introduced and which led to basically shutting down all civil society organizations.

Sweet music for Putin

Like Russia, Georgia has also introduced anti-gay laws.

When the country held parliamentary elections at the end of October, Georgia's dream declared itself victorious with 54 percent of the vote.

However, the election result was questioned by foreign election observers who pointed out that a series of irregularities had occurred. Yesterday, the EU Parliament adopted a resolution in which it was determined that the election was not fair and demanded new elections within a year. They also want to introduce sanctions against the country's Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.

At the time, the EU had already notified the government in Tbilisi that the country could not possibly become a member of the EU with the new laws that have been enacted because it simply does not meet the EU's requirements for democracy and human rights.

The regime's response is to pause all negotiations themselves until 2028.

Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze. Photo: AP

For Vladimir Putin, what is happening in Georgia is sweet music and a sign that his aggression against Ukraine also serves as a deterrent signal to other former Soviet republics that dream of a future in the European community rather than in the Russian one.

Changed location

Georgian Dream was founded by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, who has strong ties to Russia. Formally, he no longer leads the party, but is considered to be the one who actually rules behind the scenes.

It is only a year since the EU gave Georgia the status of a candidate country. This is in the hope that it would strengthen the EU-friendly forces in the country that previously managed to write into the country's constitution that they have EU membership as a goal.

Since then, the situation has changed radically.

The struggle over where Georgia is headed has been going on ever since the Rose Revolution in 2003 when the country got its first democratically elected government that was rapidly approaching the West.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and President Salome Zourabichvili. Photo: Irakli Gedenidze / AP

It didn't like Putin, who in 2008 invaded Georgia as a warning both to the country and to the West. The Russians left but surrendered two breakaway areas.

Similarly, Putin tried to stop Ukraine's path towards the EU and NATO by annexing Crimea in 2014. A first stage that in February 2022 culminated in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Of the former Soviet republics, it is Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova that are most persistent in their desire to leave the Russian Empire. Something Putin does not want to accept.

Trump's role

When there were recent elections in Moldova, there was vote buying initiated by Russian forces and it was by a hair's breadth that the country's democratic president Maia Sandu managed to retain power despite the fact that even there a clear majority of the population wants Moldova to become a member of the EU.

By supporting the pro-Russian forces in both Georgia and Moldova, Putin hopes to destabilize the countries to such an extent that they simply do not qualify for EU membership.

Russia and Georgia do not currently have diplomatic relations, but rapprochement has occurred in recent times.

During a visit to Kazakhstan, Putin praised the "courage and character" shown by Georgian authorities in pushing through the agent law.

The question is what happens to the West's support for the democratic forces in Georgia and Moldova when Donald Trump moves into the White House in January.

The countries then risk becoming pawns in a negotiation game between Putin and Trump to end the war in Ukraine.