Opposition leader Gvaramia: Georgia falling behind European post-Soviet states is ‘catastrophe’

A leader of the Coalition for Change, Nika Gvaramia, on Monday said Georgia is lagging behind other European post-Soviet countries, describing the situation as “a catastrophe” for the country.

Gvaramia noted countries such as Moldova and Ukraine have overtaken Georgia in terms of development and progress.

“The European part of the former Soviet Union is ahead of us - Moldova, Ukraine, practically all of them. This is a catastrophe,” Gvaramia stated.

He added that Georgia is at risk of losing access to one of the world’s largest and most lucrative markets - the European Union.

“We are losing a market of 450 million of the world’s wealthiest consumers - the European Union market. At the same time, it is possible to maintain access to both the Russian and EU markets, as Armenia does,” he said.

Gvaramia also argued that Georgia’s current trajectory undermines its European integration prospects, pointing to what he described as misguided policy choices by the Government.

Referring to ruling party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, he claimed that a pragmatic policy should allow Georgia to trade with multiple markets while maintaining a clear European orientation.

“A truly pragmatic policy means selling products in Russia while remaining a European country, primarily oriented toward the EU market. This is what we are losing,” Gvaramia said.