PM Kobakhidze accuses European officials of blocking EU path under ‘deep state’ influence

Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday accused European officials of acting under the influence of a so-called “deep state” to obstruct the country’s European Union integration, alleging that Georgia was unjustly denied EU candidate status in 2022.

Speaking to journalists, Kobakhidze claimed that despite the Georgian government’s “consistent efforts” to meet EU requirements, the country was denied candidate status “without any clear justification.” He attributed the decision to Georgia’s refusal to impose sanctions on Russia and send volunteer fighters to Ukraine during the ongoing conflict.

“You know what the overall picture is after 2022, when we refused to open a second front - first, completely unfairly, without any justification, they refused to grant us candidate status. The Georgian people were refused. They did not grant us status for a year and a half, then they refused to open negotiations, and this injustice continues, which is being carried out by European officials, which is very sad,” Kobakhidze said.

He also claimed a representative of the so-called “deep state” had privately urged the Georgian government to join sanctions against Russia, and when Georgia declined, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recalled the Ukrainian ambassador from Tbilisi. Kobakhidze argued that this action was coordinated and not criticized by European officials.

“There was no criticism of this decision. Why was it not criticized? Because everything was coordinated,” Kobakhidze alleged.