Tbilisi must restore trust over Abkhazia, PM

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has accused opposition groups of serving foreign interests and said the government must continue efforts to remove what he called foreign influence from Georgia's political system.

Responding to a journalist's question about the prospects of opposition parties, Kobakhidze said the government had "exposed foreign agents", including through Georgia's transparency law.

He said the legislation was aimed at exposing foreign funding of organisations and what he described as indirect foreign funding of political groups.

"The public has realised that this is foreign agency serving foreign forces and not its own country," Kobakhidze said.

He predicted that the opposition would have no political future, saying it had lost previous elections and was "doomed" to lose in the future as well.

Kobakhidze also pointed to a constitutional case filed with Georgia's Constitutional Court, saying that the political system needed to be "completely freed from foreign agency" for a healthy democratic system to develop.

Kobakhidze also said the government should do everything possible to accelerate the restoration of trust between Georgians and the populations of Georgia's occupied regions.

He said the government had a clear policy on the issue, including legislation known as "A Step to a Better Future", which provides measures including access to medical services for people living in Abkhazia.

He also said recent measures concerning fuel supplies were intended to contribute to confidence-building.

Kobakhidze accused “foreign actors” of trying to undermine those efforts, while saying the government's objective was to promote reconciliation.

"Our policy in this direction will be completely consistent and principled," he said.

Kobakhidze added Georgia should pursue its own national interests just as Russia, the United States, EU member states and other countries pursue theirs.

He described the 2008 Russia-Georgia war as an example of what can happen when a government, in his view, prioritises the interests of external powers over those of its own country.

Kobakhidze said Russia had acted in pursuit of its own "rough political interests" in 2008, which he described as unacceptable, and said the war resulted in the occupation of 20% of Georgia's territory and Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali as independent states.

He also criticised the government of former president Mikheil Saakashvili, arguing that its decisions were incompatible with Georgia's national interests and contributed to the country's "tragic" outcome.