“We shall not permit anyone to mount once again a sweeping campaign against the Orthodox Church. We shall stand guard over the interests of our Church to the very end,” said Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, responding to a journalist’s question.

He added that for years a wide-ranging campaign had been waged against the Orthodox Church, and that halting it had cost the government an enormous effort.

“You will recall that a very extensive campaign was mounted against the Orthodox Church over several years. That too was a foreign-funded campaign. Specific political parties, NGOs, and media outlets were involved, and it cost us a great effort to bring that campaign to a halt. In the end, they were compelled to suspend it at a certain point on account of lustration; however, now, as you can see, they appear to sense an opportunity to revive it. We shall not allow anyone to launch that campaign against the Orthodox Church once more. We shall stand, to the very last, on guard over the interests of our Church,” the Prime Minister stated.