Foreign services interested in Georgian party ratings – security chief

Grigol Liluashvili, the head of Georgia’s State Security Service (SSS), revealed in parliament that special services from foreign countries were particularly interested in the ratings of political parties in 2023 as part of SSS’s counterintelligence activities.

“During the reporting period, the SSS continued to provide counterintelligence support to the Defense Forces of Georgia and other law enforcement agencies. This was necessary because the activities of Georgia’s law enforcement agencies remained of special interest to the special services of certain foreign countries,” Liluashvili noted.He also mentioned that, in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war, there was an increased interest in new transport routes from foreign and domestic forces operating in Georgia.

“Due to the changed trends and heightened interests in international shipping against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war, there was a growing focus from foreign and internal groups operating in Georgia on the prospects of launching new transport routes. Additionally, representatives from the business sectors of various countries were actively pursuing the development and implementation of new business projects.

To ensure the economic security of the country, the service carried out active measures to prevent interference in economic processes by special services of foreign countries and to detect private organizations operating under their directives,” Liluashvili said.