Georgia's political standoff is 'ticking clock' bound to erupt — journalist

Journalist Vitaly Portnikov said this on Espreso TV.

"You see, sooner or later this story with the confrontation between Georgian society and the Georgian authorities will transition into a new quality. Why? Because a rather strange situation is emerging. On the one hand, the Georgian Dream party wins the parliamentary elections in Georgia. And indeed, a majority of people may vote for it. On the other hand, this very same majority of people advocate for the Euro-Atlantic and European integration of their country. At one time, Georgians were supporters of their country's entry into NATO and the European Union, back when these sentiments were unpopular in Ukrainian and Moldovan society," he stated.

The journalist emphasized that Georgia was the first to realize that its future is in the civilized world, and these sentiments have not changed.

"And so it turns out that the government, elected by a majority of voters, is conducting a completely opposite policy. It seeks ways of understanding with Moscow, it makes legislative decisions that effectively block the possibility of European and Euro-Atlantic integration, that is, it undermines the security of Georgia," Portnikov added. 

The journalist noted that this is happening at a time when the governments of neighboring Azerbaijan and Armenia are seeking ways of understanding with the West.

"This was not the case before either. And now the Georgians see - the President of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia are going to the White House. Who would have thought? And there they are embracing Donald Trump. And the President of the United States says about them: 'A great guy, a wonderful leader. Aliyev is a wonderful leader. Pashinyan is a great guy. How I like you,'" he emphasized.

Portnikov added that no one is paying any attention to Georgia at all.

"The president of Georgia is not invited anywhere, the Prime Minister of Georgia is not invited anywhere, the Americans simply pay no attention to them, as if they don't exist. So, it turns out that Georgia, which has always been the locomotive of the South Caucasus's European path, is not just not a locomotive, it's simply not there. At a time when Georgia is a strategically important part of this integration," the journalist said.

In his opinion, people in Georgia believe this is unfair because they support this integration.

"They ask their government why it behaves this way. The government cannot explain it to them logically. The government tells them: 'No, we are in favor. We are for European integration, we are for Euro-Atlantic integration. It's just that the Europeans are bad. And the Americans don't really like us now.' Well, maybe you need to make them love you, why do you need Putin to love you," Portnikov noted.

He added that the Georgian government's situation with Putin is also strange.

"On the one hand, this government is trying to find some understanding with Moscow. On the other, it certainly cannot find this understanding because Russia remains a staunch supporter of its own control over Abkhazia and South Ossetia. And, of course, in this situation, no Georgian government can find ways for a true political understanding with Russia. Not even to restore diplomatic relations between Russia and Georgia," the publicist said.

The journalist recalled that these diplomatic relations have been absent since 2008.

"And despite the fact that Bidzina Ivanishvili is clearly leaning towards Moscow, he cannot even do such a simple thing. And when, as you remember, a Russian parliament deputy, Gavrilov, I think was his name, came to Tbilisi for an international conference. And from the chair of the Georgian speaker, he opened this conference, it led to a real revolution in Georgia. To a real revolution then, to new major protests. They can neither reach an agreement with Russia to at least join some Eurasian Economic Union. Armenia is a member of this Eurasian Economic Union. This means Armenia can both negotiate with Russia and find its own path to some European countries and the U.S. They can't go there, and they can't go here. And then people wonder, what is our country's perspective at all? Nobody knows," Portnikov concluded.

• On the evening of Saturday, October 4, 2025, at the end of the voting day for local elections, supporters of the Georgian opposition stormed the Orbeliani Palace, where the presidential residence is located.