Under the leadership of the Georgian Dream, relations between Georgia and Russia have been nearly normalized, - David McAllister, Chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in an exclusive interview with InterPressNews.
He calls the Georgian Dream statements on the “Global War Party” and the “Deep State” fake news and states that these conspiracies serve to strengthen Russian influence in Georgia by spreading disinformation.
“The Georgia Dream Party is spreading well-known conspiracy theories which in the end only feed the narrative of Mr. Putin as his political allies in the Kremlin. That's simply fake news.
These conspiracies serve the purpose of cementing Russian influence in Georgia by spreading misinformation The growing Russian influence in Georgia is a cause for significant concern. Not only has the ruling party used brutal images of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine to manipulate opinions and spread disinformation, but there is also a noticeable increase in economic ties with Russia. Under the leadership of the Georgian Dream, relations between Georgia and Russia have been nearly normalized, despite Russia's occupation of 20% of Georgia's internationally recognized territory. As a candidate for EU membership, Georgia should be doing the exact opposite. The European Parliament has repeatedly called on the Georgian government to align its foreign policy and strategy toward Russia with the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy. Georgia should continue its policy of non-recognition of the occupied Ukrainian territories and honor its commitment to effectively implement measures preventing the circumvention of European sanctions. Without these steps, progress in the EU accession process will not be possible”, he said.
