Georgian Dream officials accuse UNM of hypocrisy over Russia, trying to dominate opposition

Senior members of Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party have accused the opposition United National Movement (UNM) of hypocrisy over its stance on Russia and of attempting to monopolise the country's opposition.

Speaking on Thursday, Parliament Vice Speaker Nino Tsilosani said the UNM bore significant responsibility for the consequences of the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, arguing that the party later promoted Russian tourism despite the conflict.

She said more than 400 people were killed in the war and parts of Georgia remain under Russian occupation, yet the UNM subsequently encouraged Russian visitors to travel to Georgia.

Tsilosani claimed the party only adopted a strongly anti-Russian position after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, alleging that it was acting on the instructions of foreign backers.

"The facts show that the United National Movement does everything at the instruction of its patrons," Tsilosani said, without providing evidence for the allegation.

Separately, Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Nikoloz Samkharadze said the UNM was attempting to re-establish itself as the dominant force within the opposition.

He argued that the party was seeking to marginalise smaller opposition groups in an effort to regain what he described as its lost political position.

"Their main objective is to monopolise the opposition," Samkharadze said, adding that he hoped those efforts would ultimately fail.