Georgia is ready to sever relations with the EU

RIA Novosti: Georgia could abandon EU membership and turn to the EastGeorgia can refuse to join the European Union if the Europeans continue to interfere in the internal affairs of the country. The reason is a new call for the release of former President Mikheil Saakashvili. Moreover, Western states are unhappy with Tbilisi’s desire to pass a law on foreign agents.The European Parliament has called for the third time on the European Union to impose sanctions on the Georgian businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is allegedly responsible for the suffering of Mikheil Saakashvili. MEPs demand that the former Georgian president be released and sent abroad for treatment. The pardon should be granted by the current head of the republic, Salome Zurabishvili.However, the authorities are in no rush to follow the example of MEPs. The secretary general of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Kakha Kaladze, said the government would not respect European rules. According to him, if the West collective continues to blackmail the country with the status of an EU candidate, then Georgia will refuse to join this community.At the same time, the opposition is convinced that the authorities are holding Saakashvili, because they have certain obligations towards Russian President Vladimir Putin.Zurabishvili, in turn, points out that Georgians are now hostages to a difficult situation. She blames the ex-head of state for that.In the meantime, Georgia has prepared a draft law on foreign agents. The document was submitted to Parliament on February 14. The authors claim that they were guided by the laws of the United States and other democratic countries. They are convinced that people should know about politicians’ sources of income, as well as non-profit organizations and the media. To do this, it is proposed to create a special register of foreign agents, which will include all persons whose income depends more than 20% on income from abroad.The United States did not like this law. They said the document threatened Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration because it would “stigmatize” local residents and drown out their voices.At the same time, the Georgian opposition is convinced that this document is a copy of Russian law, which aims to eliminate democratic institutions and establish a dictatorship in the republic.Interviewed RIA News Experts said that the West is now putting pressure on Georgia not only because of Saakashvili. Western politicians want Tbilisi to support Kiev. The republic fights the attacks with all its strength, but it is still unable to make a radical change in its foreign policy.The US and EU want to get the most out of Georgia, but offer nothing in return. If Tbilisi decides to meet the European Union halfway and still releases Saakashvili, it will mean a victory for the West, the experts concluded.Earlier, Saakashvili’s brother spoke about the poor health of the former president of Georgia.