Gakharia For Georgia party demands Foreign Ministry clarify whether it is involved in ‘confidential’ Geneva talks

Gakharia For Georgia opposition party has called on the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to publicly clarify whether it is taking part in what it described as “confidential” negotiations regarding the possible relocation of the Geneva International Discussions format.

In a statement, the party said it was alarmed by recent remarks from Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who said that Russia was working confidentially to move the Geneva talks to a “neutral territory”.

According to the party, the Georgian side has for months been withholding information about the scope of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) and the content of meetings held within the Geneva format.

The statement claimed that details of these meetings have periodically appeared through Russian state-controlled information agencies and contain “alarming information” related to Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Gakharia For Georgia said it considers the recent developments part of what it called a “dangerous policy dynamic” by the ruling Georgian Dream party toward the occupied territories, alleging that the Government’s actions are harming Georgia’s national interests, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The party linked this to what it described as ruling party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili’s apology to the “occupiers”, the portrayal of Georgia as the aggressor in the 2008 war and criminal proceedings against former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia over the establishment of a police checkpoint in the village of Chorchana.

The statement argued that the Geneva International Discussions, created after the 2008 war, remain an essential international mechanism through which the OSCE, the United Nations, the European Union and the United States support the protection of Georgia’s sovereign interests.

According to the party, any transfer of the talks to a so-called “neutral environment” would effectively remove the “international Western umbrella” that currently safeguards Georgia’s sovereignty and would amount to dismantling the format.

“It is a fact that Russia, armed with international political, military, informational and economic leverage, is now conducting an active and massive offensive against Georgia’s territorial integrity and national interests,” the statement said.

The party concluded by demanding a clear answer from the Government on whether it is defending Georgia’s national interests or acting as an ally of the Russian state “in an attack on our sovereignty”.