Zurabishvili Stresses Need for Coalition Government

Georgian President Says Her County No Longer Russia's Backyard

In a September 25 interview with the French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche (Sunday’s Newspaper), President Salome Zurabishvili spoke of Georgia’s EU and NATO integration goals, as well as the necessity of having a coalition government after nine years of the Georgian Dream being in power. 

Speaking of the recent political crisis, President Zurabishvili said “polarization is very difficult to overcome,” adding that upcoming local elections will show whether Georgia recovered from the crisis. 

“After nine years of a government majority, it is evident that a coalition government is needed. But it is difficult to see how it could work as the positions are so antagonistic,” she went on, alluding to the incumbent ruling Georgian Dream party unilaterally forming the governments after three consecutive victories in 2012, 2016 and 2020 parliamentary elections.  

Besides, President Zurabishvili, in the interview reaffirmed that Georgia aims to join NATO and the European Union, with the latter being “the only prospect for Georgia’s development.” “Georgia, being European in its heart, becomes more and more so in its daily life,” the Georgian President stressed, adding however that her country could do more. 

President Zurabishvili also noted that Russia has toughened its stance in occupied Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia, as well as in Ukraine. “The EU lacks a vision of how to end these conflicts,” she pointed out, arguing “sanctions alone do not produce results.” 

She further touched upon U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, noting it is a factor of instability, especially for Russia, for which “the region has become its real backyard.” But “we are no longer” the backyard for Moscow, she asserted. 

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