“People want Europe, not Russia” – Georgian President’s speech in Parliament

JAMnews

Tbilisi

Speech by Zurabishvili

Before starting her report in the Georgian Parliament, President Salome Zurabishvili called on the deputies to observe a minute of silence in memory of those killed in Bucha.

“Before I start my address, I want to express solidarity with our friend Ukraine. Today is the first anniversary of the Bucha tragedy; please honor the memory of the dead with a minute of silence,” Zurabishvili said.

Zurabishvili also said that on April 18 she would address the European Parliament.

What Zurabishvili said to the Georgian parliament:

● No matter how much you try to impeach me, either sue me in the Constitutional Court, or give me some powers, or try to ban my foreign visits, try to limit my relations with local authorities in the regions, slander me and my family, you still can’t change my purpose, you can’t change me.

● Why do you not understand people’s needs? They need Europe, not Russia. The Georgian people came out three times to listen to you — not at the call of political parties, not at the dictates of foreigners, not by order, not for money, not for the sake of a coup, not for the sake of conspiracies, but for the sake of their European future.

● Stop using anti-European rhetoric and insulting partners.

● On June 20, 2020, the people made it clear to you that they do not need Russia in any form. On March 4, 2022, they will understand that there is no alternative to our joint European path with Ukraine. On March 7-8, 2023, they made it clear what kind of future they want, and that they will never accept the loss of a European future.

● The call of the Georgian people is extremely clear, the world heard and saw it very well. The government did not understand that you are indebted to the people and you have a mandate, the Georgian people entrusted you to fulfill their will.

● No matter how true it is that the opposition itself is to blame for periodically declaring endless boycotts and spoiling the case by passing on and positioning defamatory messages to Brussels and America, the lion’s share of the responsibility still falls on the government.

● No matter how hard you try to blame someone else for failing to achieve a result through various methods – simulated scenarios, conspiracies, conspiracy theories and insults to people — this will not change your responsibility in the eyes of people and not doing its will.

● No matter how hard you try to convince people that Europe is against our national interests, values or even peace, you will not get results. The Georgian people have known for more than a century what Europe is, why they need Europe, and that European values are in full harmony with Georgian values.

● It is a fact that Tbilisi and Moscow speak the same language on the topic of a second front. The Georgian people know very well that the idea of creating the European Union serves peace, not war. The European Union in Georgia directly serves peace in our country in the form of an EU monitoring mission and peaceful development.

● No matter how hard you try to impose on people these simulated scenarios, which were used by the previous government and suspiciously match the messages of Russia and the separatists, you will not succeed.

● No matter how hard you try to prove that European and our national interests seem to contradict each other, you cannot escape reality.

● Protection of the territory, de-occupation, strengthening of defense, security of the population, development of the economy and education — all this is unthinkable and impossible without cooperation with our partners.

● With regard to Ukraine, we have shown neither diplomacy nor intelligence — yes, we subscribe to UN resolutions, but we avoid all other manifestations of moral and political solidarity. On February 25, in a completely inappropriate place, we declared that we would not join the sanctions, while the opposite is true, and we can say that we cannot and will not impose our national sanctions, but we join the international ones.

● When the whole of Europe considered it necessary to secede from Belarus, we did not join the restrictions imposed by the European Union.

● Through the rhetoric and actions of the last two years, you have erased and changed the course of your 9 year rule and deviated from the will of your people and constituents. As a result of all this, on June 17, 2022, Georgia did not receive candidate status.

● I would like to remind you of the article of the Constitution — the constitutional bodies must take all measures within their powers to ensure the full integration of Georgia into the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

● Instead of institutions, the cornerstone of democracy, the one-party system is getting stronger. You, the ruling party, unanimously called the European path a civilizational choice. So I can’t help but ask you: where are you standing and why? Why did you depart from the will of the people and the mandate received from them?

● By formally fulfilling the 12 [EU] recommendations but without the support of the people, the government will not achieve results. Without doing real work, without presenting it in the correct form and without delivering it to its destination, we will not be able to fulfill the will of the people.

● Since it was not possible to protect the European positions and image of Georgia with our European partners, I decided to actively participate in this process and promote joint and consolidated work and together achieve a real result that the EU candidate status will bring us.

● I accept this responsibility because I am the president of all and do not represent one side or the other, but only the Georgian people. We should not miss our chance, and whoever manages to do this will be able to say tomorrow: “Today the will of the Georgian people has been fulfilled.”