Georgian opposition politician says Russia itself fuels anti-Russian sentiment by occupying 20% of the country

Georgian opposition politician and Girchi party member Sandro Rakviashvili said Russia itself was doing the most to fuel anti-Russian sentiment in Georgia through its continued occupation of 20% of the country.

“There is nothing wrong with people disliking a country that has done so much harm to our country,” Rakviashvili said.

He argued that problems affecting Georgia’s tourism sector had little to do with attitudes toward Russia, saying visitors were more likely to be deterred by infrastructure problems, including roadworks in central Tbilisi.

“You can read plenty of negative things about Italy, but Florence does not suffer from a lack of tourists because of it. If we had a competent government, it would not need to come up with pointless initiatives to justify a poor tourist season,” he said.

Rakviashvili also mocked government claims about the alleged influence of the so-called “deep state,” saying officials should explain who they believe is behind it and provide evidence for their allegations.

“Our government seems to have such detailed information about the ‘deep state’s’ plans and actions that perhaps they are in direct contact and exchange information every day,” he said.

“It would be interesting to know which representative of the ‘deep state’ instructed Baramidze to make that statement and who supposedly ruined the tourist season for Georgian hotels. They should simply tell the public,” Rakviashvili added.