Speaker Papuashvili: Current Gvaramia-Saakashvili-Baramidze campaign mirrors Saakashvili’s pre-war plot to divide Abkhazia with Russia

“The narrative currently deployed by Gvaramia, Saakashvili, and Baramidze is nothing new for them. Recall Saakashvili’s statements before the 2008 war, when he proposed to the Russian President that part of Abkhazia remain under Russian influence while Gali and Ochamchire remained under Georgian control. He offered this partition in a secret letter to the Russian government. The public must remain vigilant,” Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili stated.

Papuashvili claimed key opposition figures are attempting to persuade the public that Georgians and Abkhazians are fundamentally enemies.

“It is clear that out of a clear blue sky, without any pretext, we are witnessing a coordinated campaign unfolding with the participation of Baramidze, Gvaramia, and Saakashvili. Its core premise and message is that Abkhazians and Georgians are enemies, and as Saakashvili asserted, nothing can be done about it,” Papuashvili noted.

“Consequently, they frame peaceful coexistence and national unity as impossible. This is followed by inappropriate parallels with Karabakh and assertions that just as the Armenian leadership set aside this trauma, we too should discard Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region. They argue that once Armenia set its trauma aside, new European perspectives opened up. They are directly implying that peaceful unity is impossible, forcing us into a false choice between European integration and national wholeness. This is where the narrative of Gvaramia, Saakashvili, and Baramidze leads,” Papuashvili explained.

Papuashvili further argued that the opposition’s underlying message asks the public to abandon territorial integrity in exchange for European integration.

“They offer a definitive conclusion: if we want a European future, we must relinquish these traumas, abandon our territorial integrity, and hand Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region over to Russia. In the same breath, they claim that once Georgia becomes an EU member, time will pass and we will reclaim these territories,” the Speaker remarked.

Papuashvili drew comparisons with broader regional political dynamics, claiming similar external narratives are being pushed across Eastern Europe.

“We observe similar propaganda in Ukraine, where the public is being conditioned to accept territorial concessions to advance their country’s European path, and we see it regarding Moldova in discussions concerning Romania. This is a disgraceful campaign forced upon us from outside. The sole objective of introducing such false narratives is to compel the Georgian public to renounce their country’s territorial integrity and unity,” Papuashvili said.

“This campaign by Gvaramia, Saakashvili, and Baramidze is not new. Remember Saakashvili’s actions before the 2008 war—he proposed to the Russian President that part of Abkhazia remain under Russian influence, conceding a portion of Abkhazia while keeping Gali and Ochamchire under Georgian jurisdiction. He secretly wrote to the Russian leadership proposing this division. The public must stay alert; this is a severe propaganda campaign directed against Georgia’s territorial integrity,” Papuashvili concluded.