“Three years after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the recollection of materials that reveal the approach of war-eager groups towards our region becomes increasingly horrifying,” Speaker of Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili posted on social media.
He emphasizes that the game of the war-mongering elite in world politics is not yet over.
“This post and the three accompanying videos relate to an identical message expressed towards the Georgian government by three different individuals at three different times.
In September 2022, Evelyn Farkas: “Georgia is currently under less threat from Russia… Putin cannot win in Ukraine… He cannot open a new front.”
Journalist: “Are you that confident? There is a perception that Russia still has resources to escalate problems in Georgia.”
Evelyn Farkas: “Then what? Then what…”
“Then what…” – Evelyn Farkas, executive director of the McCain Institute and current employer of former President Zourabichvili, perhaps did not realize that with this single slip, she most accurately described the attitude of the pro-war American and European political elite towards the Georgian people and their security.
Three years after the war’s outbreak in Ukraine, the media materials (interviews, statements, posts) that at various stages revealed the stance and approach of war-eager groups became increasingly horrifying. One such prominent and characteristic respondent was Evelyn Farkas. Her interview for the Georgian bureau of Radio Free Europe in September 2022 fully represents the fallacious and insidious vision of American and European formal and informal rulers, who called on Georgia to ‘align’ its political vectors.
Their narrative included: 2022 is time when the window of opportunity is open, and Georgia must not miss the moment; there are new challenges, and a small country’s government must find a way to contribute to gaining a seat at the table; the Georgian government should be more actively involved in sanctions against Russia; Georgia has not done enough to move to the front line, lacking effort and falling behind Ukraine and Moldova; Georgia today has no threat of Russian invasion because Russia cannot win over Ukraine. It lacks resources for a new front and cannot win regardless of what it does. Russia might escalate tensions with Georgia but cannot occupy the entire country. The West and international community will stand with Georgia just as we stand with Ukraine.
Is it not unbelievable to hear these messages today? Didn’t our opponents equally disbelieve when the Prime Minister and honorary chairman of Georgian Dream were telling identical stories about pressure on the Georgian government? The point is that what we hear from Evelyn Farkas is not one specific figure’s personal opinion. This is a jointly developed and shared position and action plan, which our relentless ‘well-wishers’ urged us towards using various channels.
In closed meetings, all these messages were far more direct, open, and unambiguous. Diplomats were told this, visiting emissaries repeated this, externally controlled parties and NGOs carrying foreign interests echoed – ‘window of opportunity’, ‘if it’s war, we must fight’, ‘stand on the right side of history’, ‘burning from bombs is better than burning from shame’, ‘then what…’ – the messengers changed, but the message, seemingly read from a single manual, remained constant,” Papuashvili wrote.
As the Speaker of the Parliament notes, Georgia survived a well-planned scenario and role that would have drawn the country into a conflict on the brink of nuclear confrontation.
“Today, seeing the new American administration’s efforts to end the Ukraine war, and simultaneously observing the military situation in Ukraine and what three years of war have brought to the country, it becomes completely clear how Georgia escaped a meticulously planned and directly scripted scenario – the role our people were meant to play in a conflict on the verge of nuclear confrontation.
Apparently, we were supposed to ‘do more’, ‘stand on the front line’, ‘earn a seat at the table’, sacrifice ourselves and shed blood in a global confrontation in exchange for an ‘open window of opportunity’ and ‘standing on the right side of history’. How many of our fellow citizens were misled by such moralistic promises three years ago, and how many remain captivated by the same narratives today? This historical interview clearly shows the war-supporting elites’ attitudes then – Russia is weak, Ukraine is winning, and we must defeat Russia on the battlefield. Only, all of this at the cost of someone else’s sweat, someone else’s blood, and someone else’s tears.
This military-political doctrine directly includes reopening old wounds in Georgia and repeating a confrontation with Russia, similar to the 2008 war. Had Georgia succumbed to the call for military adventure, resources spent on us by Russia would have been reduced from the Ukrainian front, giving them more advantage. And ‘then what?’ Wasn’t the victory of global interests worth the price of Georgia’s life?
The game of the war-mongering elite in world politics is not yet over. We see the contradiction caused by the desire to establish peace in Ukraine. This is a global process. The primary concern of Georgia’s government remains our homeland and its national interests. This is the mandate given to us by the people on October 26, and we will definitely see this through to the end.
P.S. Interestingly, Evelyn Farkas was the first and central figure who in 2016 linked Donald Trump’s presidential election victory to Russian interference and launched an entire campaign, which subsequent investigations confirmed was false,” Shalva Papuashvili posted on social media.
By - Svetlana Alimova
