Georgian Absurdism. Politics
Georgian government refused to allow the President to make visits to Europe and Ukraine
The Georgian government has prevented President Salome Zurabishvili from making her planned visits to Ukraine, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Belgium, Denmark, the United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Israel. The President intended to hold a series of meetings with world leaders to lobby their support for granting Georgia the status of candidate country for EU membership.
On 28 August, during a speech at a strategic forum in Slovenia, President of the European Council Charles Michel stated that the European Union and the countries wishing to join it should be ready for enlargement by 2030. In this context, the European Council president mentioned Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia and said that “enlargement is no longer a dream and it is time for both sides to move forward”.
The government’s decision was published on 30 August, just after the presidential administration announced Salome Zurabishvili’s visit to Germany starting the next day and her planned meeting with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
“On 12 July 2023, the Presidential Administration approached the government with a request about Salome Zurabishvili’s intention to visit Germany. The request was officially rejected in writing on 3 August 2023 by a decree of the Government of Georgia, in accordance with the relevant article of the Constitution of Georgia.
We remind the President that in accordance with subparagraph “a” of paragraph 1 of Article 52 of the Constitution of Georgia, the President of Georgia exercises representative powers in foreign relations only with the consent of the Government, since according to paragraph 1 of Article 54 of the Constitution, the implementation of the country’s foreign policy is under the jurisdiction of the Government,” the report reads.
The government’s decision sparked outrage from civil society in Georgia.
“Not everyone needs the government’s permission to come to Europe and talk about the importance of granting Georgia the status of an EU candidate country. You will block the President – nothing, more lobbyists from Georgia will eventually come to Europe. And we will soon do other things too. And the president, in my opinion, should also go despite the refusal,” former public defender Nino Lomjaria wrote on Facebook.
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'President violating constitution' - Zurabishvili faces impeachment over her visits to Europe
On 31 August, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili met with her German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Germany. Photos were circulated by the presidential administration. The ruling party said Zurabishvili was “grossly violating the constitution” because the president was not authorised to meet with European leaders and now faces impeachment.
The presidential administration said that Zurabishvili intends to hold a series of meetings with European leaders to lobby them to support granting Georgia the status of a candidate country for EU membership.
Ruling party: ‘President hopes for opposition to avoid impeachment’
“We know that Zurabishvili opposes the interests of the country’s European integration. And it does not matter whether she makes statements against European integration in the Georgian parliament or during a foreign visit. Our international partners will receive this information in any case,” Irakli Kobakhidze, chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, said.
“The president is “grossly violating the constitution” in the hope of avoiding responsibility “with the support of the collective national movement.” Of course, we cannot leave this without a reaction.”
According to Kobakhidze, 100 votes in parliament are needed for impeachment.
Georgia’s parliament has 150 deputies, with the ruling Georgian Dream holding 84 seats in its current composition. Of the opposition’s 66 seats:
“Salome Zurabishvili and the National Movement have common patrons and she received guarantees from them. Otherwise, she would not have taken such a risk and violated the constitution.
The society has more or less already realized who we mean. This is the party of global war,” Kobakhidze said.
On 30 August, the Georgian presidential administration issued a statement saying that President Salome Zurabishvili was starting meetings with European leaders in support of granting Georgia the status of a candidate country for EU accession.
The next day, 31 August, the Georgian government announced that it had not given the President permission to visit Germany. She has also been denied official visits and meetings in Ukraine, Switzerland, Poland, Belgium, Denmark, the United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Israel.
“We remind the president that in accordance with subparagraph “a” of paragraph 1 of article 52 of the Georgian constitution, the president of Georgia exercises representative powers in foreign relations only with the consent of the government, since according to paragraph 1 of article 54 of the constitution, the implementation of the country’s foreign policy is the responsibility of the government.”
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01.09.2023
"Georgian authorities are trying to prevent the country from obtaining EU candidate status
“The Georgian authorities are doing everything to destroy any chance for the country to obtain the status of a candidate for EU accession to score points with Russia”, political analyst Paata Zakareishvili explains the new round of confrontation between the ruling party and the president.
The chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream, Irakli Kobakhidze, announced on September 1 the launch of impeachment proceedings against President Salome Zurabishvili for “gross violation of the constitution”.
According to the Georgian constitution, the president can exercise representative powers in foreign relations only with the consent of the government, as the implementation of the country’s foreign policy is the responsibility of the government.
On 30 August, the Government announced that the government prevented her from visiting other countries and holding official meetings there, explaining that “the president opposes the interests of the country’s European integration”. On August 31 Zurabishvili went to Germany anyway and held a meeting with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. On September 1 she met with President of the European Council Charles Michel.
Earlier, the presidential administration released a statement saying that the purpose of the trip and meetings with European leaders was to lobby for support for granting Georgia candidate status for EU membership.
“All this is not being done to inform the West about something, because the West already sees very well what is happening in Georgia. The authorities are doing this so that their patron state, Russia, will be satisfied with the way the Georgian Dream is eradicating pro-European movements in Georgia”, Paata Zakareishvili said in an interview with Georgian Interpressnews.
“Their behavior is shameful. And it is even more shameful that such a talentless government would have no chance to stay in power if it were not for such a weak opposition.
Georgia has never had such a weak government and, unfortunately, never had such a weak opposition either.
Their main task is to somehow ensure that Georgia does not get the status of candidate. If the EU does grant this status to the country, they will appropriate this achievement for themselves and use it to win the elections. But they still prefer to win in some other way, to avoid getting the status.
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They shamefully inform the EU that the president’s activities aimed at cooperation with the EU are unacceptable to them. It is amazing what they are doing.
It’s stupid and arrogant, but they hope they can get away with it because the opposition can’t unite. And they are scoring points for themselves in the face of Russia.
Zurabishvili is not violating but protecting the constitution, because the strategic direction of unity with Europe is written there in a direct text. It is the authorities that are violating the constitution when they do not allow Zurabishvili to fulfil these conditions of the constitution.
The president may be violating the constitution procedurally, but in essence she is protecting it.
There are two camps in the West:
1. There are those who do not agree with granting Georgia candidate status. They say that it will be a “Russian Trojan horse” in the context of the European Union. And such a Georgia, having the status, could confuse the agenda in the European Union. “Why do we need another Orban?” – they say.
Supporters of this approach in the West say that we should wait for parliamentary elections in 2024. Then it will be clear whether the people are still following the Georgian Dream or whether the people have managed to shake its power. Then we will talk about the status of the candidate, they say.
2. Others remind that Georgian Dream is not the whole of Georgia. And although the ruling party is doing everything it can to prevent the country from getting candidate status, it should still be given to the Georgian people. And if this is not done now, the West will lose Georgia and Russia will completely take over both Georgia and the Caucasus.
If we give Georgia candidate status, we will give a chance to Georgian society, to the opposition, say the supporters of this approach. And the EU will be able to reserve the opportunity to demand that the Georgian Dream fulfill the following list of conditions.
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Die Ukraine konnte zuletzt einen Durchbruch entlang der russischen Verteidigungslinie erzielen. Warum damit der Wendepunkt im Krieg eintreten k?nnte, erkl?rt Milit?rexperte Keupp.
Der Ukraine ist im Krieg gegen die russischen Invasoren zuletzt ein Durchbruch entlang der Südfront gelungen. Zudem setzt Kiew verst?rkt auf den Einsatz von Drohnen für Angriffe auf das russische Hinterland. Bei ZDFheute live erkl?rt Milit?rexperte Marcus Keupp, wie die ukrainische Gegenoffensive derzeit l?uft und warum Russlands Verteidigungslinie br?ckelt.
... zum aktuellen Verlauf der ukrainischen Gegenoffensive
Die Ukraine habe einen bedeutenden Durchbruch durch die "erste Verteidigungslinie" der russischen Armee an der Südfront erreicht, erkl?rt Keupp. Das strategische Ziel der ukrainischen Streitkr?fte sei es, die "Südfront zu spalten" und so viel Druck auf Russlands Truppen auszuüben, dass diese nicht mehr ihre Logistik koordinieren k?nnten.
Es gehe dabei nicht um einen "hollywoodreifen Durchbruch", wie oftmals kolportiert worden sei. "Diese Operationsführung erinnert eher an klassische Schlachten des Zweiten Weltkriegs", sagt Keupp. Kiew wolle an einem bestimmten Punkt eine Lücke in die russische Verteidigung rei?en, "die muss so fünf bis zehn Kilometer breit sein - und durch diese Lücke schieben sie dann das schwere Material, also ihre Reserven".
Die Ukraine ist jetzt gerade dabei, diese Lücke aufzumachen. Das ist also ein sehr gef?hrlicher Moment für die Russen.
Marcus Keupp, Milit?rexperte
... zu den Zielen der Ukraine an der Südfront
Von zentraler Bedeutung sei dabei der Ort Tokmak, den die ukrainische Armee ausgehend von Robotyne erreichen wolle. Von dort aus k?nne die Ukraine "die russische Logistik sehr effizient unterbinden", da in diesem Gebiet "mehrere wichtige Landstra?en" und südlich des Ortes unter anderem eine wichtige Eisenbahnlinie verliefen.
Tokmak ist quasi so eine Art Wachposten, der den ganzen rückw?rtigen Raum beherrscht, bis hin zur Schwarzmeerküste.
Marcus Keupp, Milit?rexperte
Mit jedem Tag, an dem der Krieg andauere, werde es für Russland logistisch schwieriger. Man müsse sich zudem vergegenw?rtigen, wie "dünn" Russlands Armee "auf diesem riesigen Gel?nde" besetzt sei und wie wenig russische Truppen dort stünden.
... dazu, in welcher Phase sich der Krieg momentan befindet
"Wir sind jetzt in der Phase, wo es darum geht, ist der Krieg für die Russen strategisch verloren oder nicht", sagt der Milit?r?konom. Er sei für Russland taktisch verloren, wenn die Ukraine in die Position gelange, die Schwarzmeerküste zu erreichen und die Krim zu beschie?en.
Der Milit?r?konom geht davon aus, dass man momentan das "Maximum der Kraftentfaltung" der ukrainischen Gegenoffensive sehe. Die Geschwindigkeit der aktuellen ukrainischen Erfolge k?nne Kiew zuversichtlich machen. Wenn Russland eine funktionierende Verteidigung h?tte, dann würde sich eine solche "Tasche" wie bei Robotyne "nicht ?ffnen", sagt Keupp.
Nun k?nnte der "Wendepunkt der ganzen Operation einsetzen". Sollten die Kr?fte der Ukraine tats?chlich st?rker sein als das, was Russland noch zu bieten habe, "dann ist das für die Russen nur noch ein Rückzugsgefecht".
Ich denke schon, dass jetzt in den n?chsten Wochen die strategische Entscheidung in diesem Krieg, also zumindest was die Südfront angeht und was die Beschussm?glichkeit auf die Krim angeht, fallen wird.
Marcus Keupp, Milit?rexperte
... über die ukrainische Taktik der verst?rkten Drohnenangriffe
Mit Blick auf die vermehrten Drohnenangriffe der Ukraine erkl?rt Marcus Keupp, dass Russland nun so langsam erfahre, "was passiert, wenn ein Land mit Drohnen angegriffen wird".
Bisher mussten das nur die Ukrainer erdulden und nun bekommen die Russen sozusagen ihre eigene Medizin, ihre bittere Medizin zu spüren.
Marcus Keupp, Milit?rexperte
Neben Langstrecken-Drohnen, die Kiew einsetze und welche die russische Flugabwehr "relativ leicht erkennen und abfangen kann", nutze die Ukraine auch "Low-Cost-Drohnen", die auf dem klassischen Radar "so gut wie unsichtbar" seien.
Diese Art von Billig-Drohne k?nnte ein Gamechanger werden.
Marcus Keupp, Milit?rexperte
Das liege daran, dass man die Produktion dieser Drohnen "extrem dezentralisieren" k?nne, wodurch deren Produktionsst?tten für Russland nicht mehr auszuschalten seien.
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