MP Nikoloz Samkharadze expresses hope for closer Georgian-American ties and solidarity in upholding sovereignty and democracy
“With the election of the new administration, we have great hope — because we are ideologically on the same page. Our values, our Christian values, our traditional values, are the basis of our domestic and foreign policy,” MP Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Georgian Parliament, stated during a panel discussion in the United States, as part of the Alliance of Sovereign Nations Conference.
“I’m the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, and I represent the ruling party, Georgian Dream. And our Georgian dream is to have full sovereignty over our country.
We are a partially occupied country, 20% of our territories are occupied by the Russian Federation, so our Georgian dream is to restore our territorial integrity and to provide for the economic well-being of our people. Therefore, we believe that sovereignty and the sovereign decisions of people should be respected.
Unfortunately, since I was elected as Chair — that was six years ago — we have been attacked many times by left-wing radical groups, both in Georgia and supported mostly from the West. We have been the victims of foreign interference in our elections and in our domestic affairs, and when I say foreign interference, I don’t mean only the Russian Federation.
I also mean the non-governmental organisations that have been funded from the U.S. and from Europe, that have actively worked to undermine the legitimacy of the democratically elected government, and also to encourage riots, to encourage violence, and ultimately, the violent overthrow of the government,” Samkharadze has stated.
According to the head of the Georgian parliamentary delegation to the United States, the panellists at the last panel said that their children are abused because of their opinions.
“We have here in the Georgian delegation a lady politician who was also abused — together with her children — when these left-wing radicals attacked her for her opinion. So this is a very serious threat that all of us are facing. Unfortunately, Georgia has had to experience this firsthand.
And the reason I am here is that with the election of the new administration, we have great hope — because we are ideologically on the same page. Our values, our Christian values, our traditional values, are the basis of our domestic and foreign policy. Therefore, we hope that with the new administration, first of all, Georgian-American relations will deepen further and will flourish, and secondly, we will stand together to protect sovereignty, democracy, free speech, and elections in our countries,” Nikoloz Samkharadze has stated.