In einem ausführlichen Interview mit Euronews betont der georgische Premierminister Irakli Kobachidse, dass die bevorstehenden Wahlen angesichts des Wirtschaftswachstums und der politischen Polarisierung von entscheidender Bedeutung für den EU-Beitritt und die Abkehr vom russischen Einfluss sind.
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00:00At a time of major political transformation, Georgia is going to the polls in one of the most crucially important elections in a generation.
00:09Euronews has already sat down with President Salom Zurabishvili and I'm in Tbilisi for an in-depth interview with Prime Minister Irakli Kobakidze.
00:21Prime Minister, thank you so much for joining us on Euronews. It's a pleasure to be here. I know this is an extremely busy week for you.
00:29This is also a crucial time for Georgia as the country is heading into elections which are seen as a decision-maker for the future of Georgia.
00:41For you as a young Prime Minister, what do you see as the future of Georgia?
00:48First of all, thank you very much for this interview. It's a pleasure for me to be interviewed by Euronews. Thank you for your interest.
00:55We are anticipating really crucial elections for Georgia. We enjoy quite a rapid development in our country. We enjoy a rapid economic development.
01:07The country is developing, but the challenges are quite essential for Georgia.
01:12We are saying very directly and very explicitly that these elections are also a referendum about the war and peace issue.
01:22The Georgian dream government, we believe, is the strongest guarantee for the peace in this country, but it's also about the development of the country.
01:31We have again the rapid economic development and we want to keep this trend for Georgia.
01:38During the last three years and a half, we enjoyed almost double-digit economic growth.
01:45We had the highest growth not only in the region, but also in Europe.
01:50The average economic growth in Georgia used to be 9.7% in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
01:57Also this year's preliminary figure is 10% economic growth.
02:02For us, keeping this trend is very important.
02:05Also with regard to the European integration of Georgia, because we know that without proper economic figures, Georgia will never be accepted as a full-fledged member of the European Union.
02:18What is the level of dialogue then with the EU in terms of your EU membership and what is the next stage of that for Georgia?
02:27Unfortunately, we are facing some challenges in terms of the dialogue at this moment.
02:33But in general, if we summarize the outcomes of our policies, Georgian Dream's policies, the Georgian Dream government managed to achieve all important steps towards the European integration.
02:53We managed to sign as a Georgian Dream government the association agreement with the European Union back in 2014.
03:00We managed to sign the DCFTE with the European Union.
03:04We got the visa-free regime for our citizens.
03:07And finally, the Georgian Dream government managed to get the candidate status for Georgia.
03:12I strongly believe that as soon as these elections will be over and as soon as the war in Ukraine will be over, we will essentially improve and restart the relations between Georgia and the EU and also between Georgia and the US.
03:28As a Georgian, what does Europe mean to you and what would it mean to be part of that club that is seen as the European Union?
03:37To be part of the European family is a kind of historic choice for Georgia and for Georgians.
03:45We know that we are a Christian nation and Europe was always associated with Christianity, with defending and protecting Christianity for Georgia.
03:56So that's why Europe was always a kind of natural choice for Georgia and for Georgians.
04:02And that is one of the strongest reasons why we want to be the full-fledged member of the European family.
04:10Europe also means the higher level of prosperity, means development for Georgians.
04:16So that's why it's our very strong aspiration to move towards Europe.
04:23So that's why we are very much committed to this foreign policy priority of Georgia.
04:28The world has been debating the question in the East and both the West, especially in your country, as you say.
04:35Are you pro-Russian or anti-European? Can you put it to rest once and for all for us?
04:42We are clearly pro-European as a government and we have evidenced it by our actions.
04:50There are very specific actions through which we managed to move the country towards the EU.
04:58That's why there is no space for this kind of manipulations, but the opposition is there to manipulate.
05:05That's their choice, that's their job, that's part of democracy.
05:10We will continue to make everything to promote Georgia's EU accession also in the future.
05:17As well as talking obviously to the EU, which you are clearly doing, you speak to governments all around the world.
05:23When was the last time you spoke to the Kremlin?
05:26We have no diplomatic relations with Russia.
05:30Maybe Georgia is the only country in the region which has no diplomatic relations with Russia.
05:36We have communication with our Western partners in Europe and the US.
05:43That's the current state of affairs.
05:46That's why there is also in this case no space for any manipulations.
05:52Well, this week again we've seen elections in other countries, in particular Moldova.
05:58There was a lot of controversy in terms of Russia's involvement in the political process there.
06:05Will we see anything like that come here to Georgia?
06:08You can say that Russia is not influential in Georgia.
06:14There are no political parties where they would enjoy their influence.
06:19There are no influential media channels with their influence.
06:25That's why the Russian side cannot influence the elections in Georgia essentially.
06:32Looking in, it seems that you are matching certain Kremlin narratives in terms of some of the policies and laws that are being introduced here.
06:42The foreign agents law, LGBTQ, is that something that you would say is following in their footsteps?
06:49These are the decisions made by the Georgian government.
06:53These decisions have nothing to do with the decisions made by the Russian government.
07:00We have introduced the transparency law and the content of this law has nothing to do with the content of the Russian law about the NGOs.
07:10This law is only about the transparency.
07:13The only thing which is envisaged by this law is to ensure that the NGOs are publicizing their annual financial declarations to the Ministry of Justice.
07:23And that's it. There are no restrictions.
07:26That's why this message about the Russian law was also a complete fake.
07:31The law about the LGBTI, that's also our national decision.
07:35When it comes to war in Ukraine, there seems to have been a shift in tone on that.
07:41Is Georgia seeing this as an opportunity to have its independent voice heard?
07:47And if there is an opportunity there, what is it for you?
07:50In general, we are strongly supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
07:55We have condemned the Russian military aggression many times.
07:59We have joined more than 600 international acts in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and condemning also the Russian military aggression.
08:10So that's why we can say very firmly that our position with regard to the ongoing war in Ukraine is very strong.
08:18And of course this position is based on international law standards.
08:24Any war brings with it horrors that we see happening in Ukraine and Georgia lost territories throughout history.
08:33How did that shape you as a person and a politician in terms of your policies throughout your career?
08:43Wir hatten eine sehr komplizierte Geschichte, besonders in den letzten 30 Jahren nach dem Verfall der Sowjetunion.
08:52Aber wir haben auch viel gelernt.
08:54Und diese Erfahrung hat uns geholfen, viele Probleme zu vermeiden in den letzten Jahrzehnten.
09:03Und für mich, auch als Politikerin, ist diese Erfahrung sehr nützlich und sehr wichtig.
09:09Und das ganze Team hat diese Erfahrung genutzt, um die Probleme zu beurteilen und um den Krieg in Georgien zu vermeiden.
09:18Was bedeutet das für ein Land wie Georgia, das von Kriegen umgebracht wird?
09:23Es stellt uns natürlich in eine sehr komplizierte Situation ein.
09:27Aber trotz all dieser Herausforderungen haben wir es geschafft, die Frieden und das Land zu behalten.
09:32Wie reagiert man auf westliche Verpflichtungen gegen Russland und was hat das für einen Eindruck auf die Region?
09:39Ich erinnere mich, dass die Opposition uns sehr gezwungen hat, diese Verpflichtungen einzuschließen.
09:46Aber wir haben eine andere Entscheidung gemacht.
09:49Und ich kann es sehr einfach erklären.
09:52Der Teil des georgischen Handelns und des gesamten russischen Handelns ist 0,3 Prozent.
09:59Natürlich kann Georgia die russische Ökonomie nicht zerstören, indem sie die ökonomischen Verpflichtungen einstellt.
10:05Gleichzeitig würde das Einstellen von Verpflichtungen bedeuten, dass der Konflikt ausgeschöpft wird.
10:12Deshalb hatten wir einen sehr starken Grund, diese Verpflichtungen nicht zu folgen.
10:20Aber wir tun unser Bestes, um niemanden zu lassen, der den georgischen Territorien verpflichtet wird, die Verpflichtungen einzustellen.
10:31Sprechen wir mal über Handels- und Energiesicherheit, die für diese Region sehr wichtig ist.
10:37Wo spielt sich Georgia darin ein?
10:39Und die strategische Position ist für Georgia wichtig, oder?
10:43Stärken der Konnektivitätsfunktion für Georgia ist eine der wichtigen Aufgaben für uns.
10:48Und insbesondere unter den neuen geopolitischen Umständen können wir unsere Konnektivitätsfunktion in dieser Region wirklich stärken.
10:59Wir haben z.B. sehr wichtige strategische Projekte, die uns mit Aserbaidschan und mit der Türkei verbinden.
11:05Und es gibt auch andere wichtige Projekte, z.B. das Plexiglas-Unterwasser-Elektrischkebelprojekt
11:13und das Internetkebelprojekt, das Georgia mit den europäischen Märkten verbindet.
11:18Wir investieren auch sehr in die Entwicklung der Infrastruktur.
11:22Wir haben es geschafft, rund 300 Kilometer Höhenstrecken in Georgia zu bauen.
11:28Jetzt haben wir eine neue Porte auf dem Plexiglas-Unterwasser-Elektrischkebel gebaut.
11:34Wir wollen einen neuen internationalen Flughafen bauen.
11:38Wir werden den internationalen Flughafen und die Reisewege erweitern.
11:43Es gibt viele verschiedene Projekte, die auch Teil unseres Programms sind.
11:47Und wir sind vollständig konzentriert auf diese Agenda für dieses Land.
11:51Herr Präsident, vielen Dank für Ihre Zeit. Es war mir ein Vergnügen, Sie zu treffen.
11:55Vielen Dank.
11:56Vielen Dank.