Giorgi Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
A deputy from the United National Movement, Giorgi Kandelaki, has called the appointment to the office of the first deputy Defense Minister of Levan Girsiashvili, one of the leaders of the Democratic Movement-United Georgia party of the ex-speaker of the parliament Nino Burjanadze, as an example of such strengthening. "The appointment of a representative of the party opposing Georgia's integration into NATO to the post of Deputy Defense Minister raises our concerns," Mr. Kandelaki said.
He recalled that Nino Burjanadze has repeatedly met in Moscow with Russian leaders, including Vladimir Putin. She is regarded by the opposition as "the official collaborator of the president of the Russian Federation." "It is essential for our government to clarify what is going on - whether official partners of Russia have obtained access to power or whether Georgian Dream is merging with the pro-Russian forces," Kandelaki said.
Georgian Dream has not clarified the situation yet. The National Movement has been protesting against the increasing activity of Nino Burjanadze. In connection with the signing of a new framework agreement between Moscow and Sukhumi, the former chairman of the parliament has been presenting radical proposals in the media, accusing the authorities of failing to establish a substantive dialogue with Russia. "If I were president, there would be no contract between Abkhazia and Moscow," she said the other day, adding that the Russian-Abkhazian agreement, in her opinion, "was the result of our government's interactions with NATO and plans to open a NATO training center in Georgia."
At the same time, Nino made a surprising proposal on the construction of a new gas pipeline to be titled Blue Stream, which would link Russia with Turkey and would go not via the Black Sea (as Putin and Erdogan have discussed recently), but via Georgian territory. According to experts, there is a zero possibility that Moscow and Ankara would seriously consider this option, due to both economic and political reasons. However, this proposal is important for Nino Burjanadze, since she hopes to be heard in Moscow and for her efforts to create a "pro-Russian agenda" in Georgia (perhaps for the first time in 25 years) to be appreciated.
That is why her statements about NATO are becoming more one-sided. Recently, in an interview, she said that Georgia "will never be able to become a member of NATO." Burjanadze highlighted a recent statement made by US President Barack Obama: "Georgia is not even halfway into NATO."
Five years ago, and even more so a decade ago, a pro-Russian agenda could lead to political death, but given the events in Ukraine and NATO's reluctance to give Georgia a "roadmap to join the alliance," the position of pro-Russian forces is becoming more stable, while the presence of their ideas among the authorities does not surprise anyone anymore, even though it continues to outrage the adherents of the pro-Western trend in Georgia, including the leaders of the former ruling party.
It is worth noting that against the background of "Western indifference to Georgian problems" (this narrative is becoming more popular in Georgia), the authorities are not angrily rejecting accusations of the change of course, as they would have done only a few years ago.
