MP Gabunia: Eurocrats treat Georgia “like a toy” and want to use it as a geopolitical weapon

“Criticism and reports on Georgia from Eurobureaucrats have become tiresome, full of completely unfounded accusations against the country,” said MP Giorgi Gabunia, chair of Parliament’s Culture Committee.

Gabunia said the Eurobureaucrats’ attitude towards Georgia is unhealthy.

“They asked us, a candidate country, to join the sanctions and to make sure Georgia would not be used to get around them. To that end, we faced great political pressure. A good example is the Kulevi oil terminal. You remember the fuss over Kulevi, when they claimed Georgia was being used to evade sanctions. You remember the German Ambassador’s statement too, saying they would look into the matter and impose the appropriate sanctions. We are now seeing that sanctions on diesel have been lifted for Russia, with further decisions being prepared to ease other restrictions. Apparently, Russia is no longer a threat today. Yet they were obliging us to pursue a policy that suited the EU.

Where is the fairness and the rational approach towards a state? Can you treat a country like a toy? They wanted us to be a geopolitical plaything, and now, through these resolutions and various political decisions, they are trying to put Georgia in the line of fire of criticism. This is no longer even a double standard; it is an unfair and unhealthy attitude towards the Georgian state. We will never let anyone get away with this. We are ready to cooperate with the EU, but it must be based on equality and mutual respect, not on the colonial policy they are pursuing,” Gabunia said.