UNM’s Pavlenishvili: We warned everyone that Ivanishvili’s actions are pushing Georgia towards isolation and sanctions

“When you entrench a dictatorship in your country, pass repressive legislation and engage in actions covered by European legislation, you become a target for sanctions,” said Irakli Pavlenishvili, Chair of the United National Movement’s Interim Governing Council.

He added that with each consecutive meeting of the European Council or the European Parliament, increasingly critical statements are being issued regarding Georgia.

“Europe has its own norms and its own specific rules of procedure. When you entrench a dictatorship in your country, pass repressive legislation and engage in actions covered by European legislation, you become a target for sanctions. Nothing was surprising about this. We warned everyone that Ivanishvili’s actions were dangerous for our country and would lead to sanctions against everyone involved, which would in turn contribute to the country’s isolation and to sanctions against it, without the system being dismantled.

Obviously, as long as the Ivanishvili regime remains in power, such negative assessments will continue. Regrettably, we can expect ever more critical and alarming statements at every new gathering—be it the European Council, the European Parliament or any other body. These individuals may well face sanctions, but penalising so many people without removing the underlying system will only intensify the freeze, threatening Georgia with total international isolation. Otherwise, of course, sanctions against specific individuals who have done a great many bad things would not be quite so alarming,” Pavlenishvili said.

The European Parliament adopted its latest resolution on Georgia on 8 October.