Last December, Georgia’s parliament chose Mikheil Kavelashvili, a close ally of ruling party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, as the country’s new president. He replaces Salomé Zourabichvili, who won the presidency in 2018 in a popular vote. Zourabichvili was the country’s fifth president.
Opposition parties and Zourabichvili claim that the October 2024 parliamentary elections, which Georgian Dream officially won with 54.09% of the vote, were rigged and that, therefore, neither Georgian Dream’s victory nor the replacement of Zourabichvili to the presidency by Kavelashvili were legitimate. Opposition parties have refused to enter Parliament and work with Georgian Dream members and are demanding new elections.
Zourabichvili was in Washington to attend President Donald Trump’s inauguration at the invitation of Rep. Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina. In the US capital, she spoke with Voice of America.
The following transcript of this interview has been edited for brevity and clarity:
VOA: Thanks for being here at VOA. We know that you attended the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States, but also had the opportunity to meet with members of President Trump’s cabinet. What was your main message during these meetings?
Salomé Zourabichvili, former president of Georgia: Well, those were more social gatherings before the inauguration and before the confirmation of these Cabinet members. I met them at various receptions and at an (inaugural) ball. So it was not a place for (a) formal meeting (or) to relay formal messages.
It is very important that contact is established. My brief message was that Georgia today finds itself at a crucial turning point, in a region that is very important to the United States and its interests, and therefore immediate attention should be paid to what is happening in Georgia. in the Caucasus, in the Black Sea, from the new administration.
VOA: You often say that Georgia needs the United States, but the United States also needs Georgia. Why should Georgia be important to the United States, and what role could Georgia play in the South Caucasus (and) the broader region?
Zourabichvili: First of all, because the Russians know it better than anyone: they have always said historically that whoever controls Tbilisi… controls the Caucasus. And this is even more important today, when this region is becoming very important for controlling the Black Sea. …
The Black Sea ports are very important. And it’s no coincidence that Russia also started the war against Ukraine for control of this part of the Black Sea coast, starting with Crimea in 2014. And it’s no coincidence if the hybrid war that Russia started with the elections in Georgia, also with the elections in Romania, and to rig the elections, in a very different way, in Moldova – so these three countries, if you look at the map, are countries of the sea Black. Russia’s strategy is therefore very clear.
So the United States’ strategy should be (a) continuation of what it has been over the years, which is to consolidate Georgia…(as) a bastion of democracy. (The) Georgian army would not exist without American support. So I think that shows that it wasn’t just out of sympathy, but because there was a serious and real American interest in supporting Georgia. And I am convinced that these interests are still present and even more so today than perhaps in the past.
VOA: You have been invited to attend the inauguration by Congressman Joe Wilson, one of the authors in the United States House of Representatives of the MEGOBARI Act (aimed at strengthening democracy and countering Russian influence in Georgia) and Georgia’s Nightmare Non-Recognition Law (prohibiting that it is so important that the US government does not recognize the current Georgian government?
Zourabichvili: I think it is not possible for a country like the United States to recognize a government resulting from rigged elections and unconstitutional acts… a regime in which no independent institution remains; all institutions are simply appointed by one party and one man.
This truly destroys everything the United States has done in this country. Building institutions – not just the military; these are all the institutions — support for the reform of the judicial system, the creation of the anti-corruption system and all that, which is actually the fruit of the work of more than 30 years since the independence of Georgia. What is happening today is really destroying all of that.
VOA: You, the opposition and part of the Georgian people are demanding new elections. Is this the main demand of the moment?
Zourabichvili: I still hope that the de facto leaders (of Georgia) will recognize that the country’s stability is the most important thing and agree to help the country by (holding) new elections, through compromise with the opposition. But as time passes, there is probably less and less hope that they will arrive at such a sensible solution.
And what will then most likely happen is that the regime will dissolve, because it cannot resist either the sanctions, nor the economic and financial situation in which we are engaged, the fact that it is rejected by the vast majority of the country and that it is isolated from everyone. the partners, Americans and Europeans, who have truly supported Georgia over the years.
VOA: Various experts we speak with say Georgia will not be a top priority for the Trump administration. How do you plan to attract Georgia’s attention?
Zourabichvili: Well, we’ll probably never be the first priority, and I hope that’s not the case, because that means another level of crisis, which we don’t want. Again, we don’t want instability. But I think what’s happening in Georgia is a pretty important example. I don’t think America (can) accept a country (that) was supported and, in fact, built as a state by the United States, (befriending) terrorist movements, with Iran, with China and (handing over) strategic interests on the Black Sea, the port of Anaklia or new lines of communication to China, which is happening.
