Irakli Garibashvili: If anyone does not want the candidate status, it is the destructive, radical opposition. Why? After the acquisition of the status, they will practically lose every accusation, and they will not be able to slander us in any way

If anyone does not want the candidate status, it is the destructive, radical opposition, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili stated on Imedi TV.

According to the Head of Government, after the acquisition of the status, they will practically lose every accusation against the Government.

“If we took imprudent, emotional steps and did something populistic, there would have been nothing in the country today. The GEL would not be almost below 2.5, for example, or inflation would not have dropped to 8%. Unemployment is at an all-time low. Poverty is at an all-time low. So many jobs have been created. We have increased pensions and salaries in public and private sectors, everywhere. In other words, we have good progress in every direction. We are launching large-scale projects. This year, in September, we intend to launch the construction of Anaklia. We are launching the construction of a new airport. It is planned to invest 500 million USD. Progress is across the board. Of course, when we have such great progress against the backdrop of such challenges, we get on many people’s nerves, and many had an illusion and hope that Georgia’s role would be to engage in the war. We rejected this role long ago, when Bidzina Ivanishvili’s patriotic Government came to power, so this is only natural. 

“I also would like to explain something. We are not against anyone. Every country and every state has its own interests, but we have our own interests, and we have the right to have our own interests and to protect our interests. This is what it is about. Therefore, we will continue our national, sovereign policy. Our task is to strengthen our country’s sovereignty, independence, and—more importantly—our dream of uniting our country and ensuring EU membership with dignity. This process is not easy, and it does not happen overnight. I want to say once again that we have achieved the maximum over the past decade. It seemed unimaginable. The Association Agreement, visa-free travel, free trade, the perspective, the status, and after that there is just membership left. No one could have imagined that we would receive the European perspective. There was a lot of skepticism in European cities and capitals about Georgia’s deserving this assessment. We heard many skeptical statements, but we received it. Consequently, it requires maintaining and protecting. If anyone does not want the candidate status, it is the destructive, radical opposition. Why? After the acquisition of the status, they will practically lose every accusation, and they will not be able to slander us in any way. What will they say? We did the maximum in this period, so they will do their best to instigate sabotage, more disturbances, to destroy the economy, to destroy tourism, to ensure against a 10% growth, and instead have a 10% economic decline, because all this reflects on people. Therefore, I want to address our citizens and say that their every action must be analyzed thoroughly,” the Prime Minister stated.