Opinion on Georgian Dream president Mikheil Kavelashvili’s visit to the UN
Mikheil Kavelashvili’s visit to the UN
“[Georgian Dream prime minister] Kobakhidze avoided another embarrassment. He would have had nothing to say at the UN, he wouldn’t have been able to hold a single serious meeting, and no one would even have shaken his hand.”
That was how Nino Kalandadze, founder of the Chavchavadze Centre, commented on Georgian Dream president Mikheil Kavelashvili’s speech at the UN General Assembly in place of prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze.
Mikheil Kavelashvili, president from the Georgian Dream party, has flown to the US, where he will address the 80th session of the UN General Assembly. While in the US, Kavelashvili is also due to meet the UN secretary general, António Guterres.
In addition, he will attend an official reception in New York hosted by Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, in honour of the heads of delegations taking part in the General Assembly.
Nino Kalandadze, founder of the Chavchavadze Centre, commented:
“Given that the UN is a serious platform and that side meetings at the General Assembly carry great weight in international relations, Kobakhidze, in my firm conviction, simply avoided another embarrassment.
He would have had nothing to say. He would have offered nothing new and would merely have become the target of criticism from Georgia’s allies. He would not have been able to hold a single serious meeting, and no one would even have shaken his hand.
Kavelashvili is such an insignificant figure that I don’t think it even matters what language he will speak in [at the UN]. … His speech will lack substance; he has nothing to say to a western audience.”
The United Arab Emirates is now the main backer and ally of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the de facto leader of Georgia, given that not only Georgia and its government but Ivanishvili himself are effectively operating under international isolation. It is clear, observers say, that he is striking individual deals with the states that support him in one way or another.
Ivanishvili is strongly attached to relations with the UAE – first, because he owes them, and second, because he ties his financial gains, investments, and in future even certain security guarantees to the state that is backing him now.
He has no alternative at a time when he is completely cut off from any communication with the United States. All contact, including that linked to his financial interests in the West, has been completely severed. Now he needs a reliable ally that will not demand he meet democratic conditions”.
News in Georgia
