Opinion: Pashinyan is right — Armenia’s path to the European Union will become harder if Georgia remains in its current state
Giorgi Rukhadze, founder of the Centre for Strategic Analysis, commented on a statement by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who said that one of the biggest obstacles to Armenia’s integration into the European Union is the freeze in political dialogue between the EU and Georgia.
Rukhadze said Pashinyan’s remarks reflect Armenia’s national interests and the current reality.
“Frankly speaking, the biggest problem for Armenia’s European integration at the moment is the frozen political dialogue between the European Union and Georgia. For us, Georgia is the path to the European Union. We adopted a law to begin the EU accession process after Georgia received EU candidate status. That made the prospect of Armenia’s EU membership tangible, and we expect and demand the development of a constructive process between the European Union and Georgia. This is important for Armenia. It is just as important as it is for Georgia itself,” Nikol Pashinyan said during his speech in the European Parliament.
Giorgi Rukhadze said: “Pashinyan’s statement reflects Armenia’s national interests. What Pashinyan says is true. Armenia’s path towards the European Union will become significantly more complicated if Georgia remains in the condition it is in today. Prime Minister Pashinyan did not explain why the process [of Georgia’s integration] has stalled, but in reality we all know why.
Everything would be different if Georgia were not ruled by a Russian oligarch. Bidzina Ivanishvili — the ‘Georgian ayatollah’ — is effectively governing the country today.
Because of this, negotiations with the European Union have been suspended; the visa-free regime is under threat, and, incidentally, the association agreement is also at risk.”
“This situation cannot be fixed through dialogue. There is only one reason why Georgia as a state has ended up in this position: the Russian and illegitimate rule of Ivanishvili.
The need for negotiations will arise only when the moment comes and the Ivanishvili regime sees that it is losing power. Only then will it agree to talks. Have you seen the Georgian Dream retreat on anything over the past two years?
Today there is nothing to talk about. Who would we talk to — the Russians? What is there to discuss with Russian occupiers — whether they will grant you some place in politics? Unfortunately, there is nothing to discuss.
The only way out is unity — expanding that unity. Through a broader unity it will be possible to create even greater pressure on Georgian Dream. External factors will also play a role, and they are no longer working in Georgian Dream’s favour.”
On Georgia’s accession to the European Union
