Mamuka Mdinaradze, Chairman of the Georgian Dream faction, accused opposition groups of scheming to incite unrest on December 16, coinciding with the European Council session, amid fears of a delay in EU accession talks for Georgia. Mdinaradze claimed that the opposition focused heavily on this date, intending to use the potential EU decision as a pretext for chaos.

“The opposition has built its strategy around December 16, planning to leverage a possible EU decision to incite unrest,” Mdinaradze stated.

He noted that while information from the European Council was limited, there was awareness of the opposition’s intentions. He explained that opposition groups had crafted a four-year strategy aimed at destabilizing the government by aligning their efforts with key European Council sessions.

“We took decisive action to thwart their plans,” Mdinaradze added, emphasizing that Georgian Dream’s policies effectively prevented potential riots, including those anticipated from December 16 through the New Year.

He also addressed public protests, urging demonstrators to reflect on the facts.

“If Georgia had truly rejected European integration, their protests would be justified. But since that is false, they should heed Irakli Kobakhidze’s statements to grasp the truth,” he asserted.

“We are not rejecting any processes, but we will not initiate them,” he continued.

“If a document opening EU negotiations is presented on December 16, we will sign it immediately. We will not beg or initiate the process ourselves. When the EU is ready to proceed with negotiations, we will sign the agreement. This is our firm position.”

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, addressing the issue a day earlier, reiterated, “We will not pursue negotiations until 2028. We reject EU grants but remain committed to European integration, without yielding to blackmail.”