Ex-Pres Saakashvili declares Georgia’s foreign policy ‘dead’

Georgia’s arrested third president, Mikheil Saakashvili, has criticised the country’s current foreign policy, claiming that it “effectively no longer exists.” He made the comments in a post on social media on Tuesday.

“It is impossible to evaluate Georgia’s foreign policy - you cannot assess what does not exist. One can only note its death,” Saakashvili wrote.

Saakashvili contrasted the present situation with previous periods of Georgian statehood, saying that the country had an active foreign policy under former presidents Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Eduard Shevardnadze, and during his own tenure, when he said Georgia became a “significant international actor.”

Recalling his early experience in diplomacy, he noted that even during the Soviet era, Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs “did nothing” despite existing as an institution. According to Saakashvili, today’s ministry, though housed in a larger and more modern building, continues to be ineffective.

“Georgia no longer possesses one of the most fundamental attributes of statehood - foreign policy. It has died,” he wrote.