Georgia targeted by ‘deep state’ over refusal to open second front against Russia, PM

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has claimed that Georgia has become a main target of the "deep state" because of the government's refusal to open a "second front" against Russia, join sanctions imposed on Moscow and pursue policies that he said would undermine the country's national interests.

Speaking at a briefing at the Government Administration on Monday, Kobakhidze said the resolution recently adopted by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly was part of a broader process aimed at pressuring Georgia, changing its government and returning what he described as foreign-controlled political forces to power.

According to the prime minister, the Georgian government's "principled national position" had triggered an "absurd but serious process" in which all instruments allegedly available to the "deep state," including European institutions, were being used against the country.

Kobakhidze claimed the OSCE PA resolution repeated accusations used by European bureaucracy to encourage radicalism and revolutionary processes in Georgia.

He also disputed criticism of Georgia's 2024 parliamentary elections, saying the OSCE and ODIHR had described the elections as competitive and citing remarks by Swiss delegation head Daniel Fässler in support of the electoral process.

The prime minister argued that Western institutions had treated the former United National Movement government favourably despite what he described as authoritarian rule, human rights violations, fraudulent elections, political imprisonment, pressure on businesses and the media, and the 2008 war.

Kobakhidze claimed that sanctions, international resolutions and small domestic protests were now the only instruments left to the "deep state" after what he described as failed attempts to organise revolutions in Georgia.

He said the Georgian Dream government would continue pursuing policies aimed at protecting national sovereignty despite external pressure.

Kobakhidze also criticised what he described as "pseudo-liberal ideology," "LGBT propaganda," forced migration policies and the erosion of national and religious identity, claiming these policies had contributed to economic stagnation and other problems in the European Union.

He argued that Georgia had no alternative to “firmly defending” its sovereignty, warning that abandoning what he described as a national policy could threaten the country's economy, traditional values, sovereignty and even its existence as a state.

The prime minister said neither international resolutions, sanctions nor attempts at political upheaval would force the Georgian government to change course, citing Georgian Dream's electoral results in 2024 and 2025 as evidence of public support for its policies.