Salomé Zurabishvili (Paris, 72 years old) is the president of the Republic of Georgia. And something else: the most visible figure abroad in the opposition to the Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, and the Government of the Georgian Dream party. A recently adopted law against foreign influence, similar to the one that Russia has used to persecute the opposition, has ignited the streets, with demonstrations against it, and has hardened the pulse between Europeanists and pro-Russians in this Caucasian country, a candidate to enter the EU since last December.
Zurabishvili is an atypical figure. He was born into a family of Georgian exiles in France. After a successful career at the Quai d’Orsay as a French diplomat, one day in 2004, President Jacques Chirac and Georgian Prime Minister Mikhail Saakashvili agreed that the then French ambassador to Georgia would become Foreign Minister… of Georgia. Her cousin, the writer Emmanuel Carrère, reconstructed the curious scene in a report: “It’s crazy, Salomé thinks, but who would say no to such a proposal?”
He didn’t say no, and now he faces a decisive moment. After being a minister and deputy, she has held the presidency since 2018, a position that, among the limited powers she has, includes the power of veto. Flanked by the Georgian and European flag, she connects by videoconference from Tbilisi with the correspondents of the European network of LENA newspapers in Paris, including EL PAÍS. Zurabishvili believes that the biggest danger for Georgia would be if Europe left it alone against Russia.
Ask. Prepares to veto foreign influence law. What is in game?
Answer. Everyone knows that this veto has no chance of being accepted as such, because the majority that has adopted the law is the same one that can reject my veto. But the authorities, if European pressures multiply, perhaps could not override the veto for a while, not immediately take action. What matters above all, for the population, is that I use the veto as the symbol of a no. A no to this law, but also to every obstacle erected before our progress on the European path.
Q. What risks do you see of violent confrontation after the adoption of the law? There is talk of a revolution.
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R. The only ones who talk about revolution are the authorities. It is the language of Moscow. The enemy, attempts at destabilization, revolution, foreign agents: all this is conspiracy theory. The reality is that there have been 38 days of demonstrations without the slightest violence. If there are risks, they are from the side of the special forces, which are not identifiable and can overflow. The adoption of the law and the veto that I am going to oppose must mark the end of a process. The next stage should be the campaign for the elections [parlamentarias] next October. Everyone knows that destabilization would distance us from our European path. It is important that everyone mobilizes for these elections, because there will undoubtedly be attempts at fraud. But the experience of this country shows that, when there is a true mobilization, these means are not enough to falsify the result.
Q. From the outside, current events may remind us of Maidan Square in 2014. Is Georgia taking the same path as Ukraine?
R. I keep hearing that the events on Maidan Square led to Russia’s intervention. No! Russia’s intervention is something that by itself can happen anywhere. I would advise Europeans not to think that this only happens to others. What is happening in Georgia is not a repeat of the Maidan. Georgia was already invaded by Russia, without Maidan, because Russia suddenly decided it should invade its neighbor. It occupies 20% of the territory and this has not changed Georgia’s decisions in favor of Europe one bit so far.
They call me a traitor, the head of the war party, the leader of the revolution. It applies to anyone who disagrees on any point. We are already in an authoritarian regime.
Q. The prime minister assures that the law does not in any way prevent continuing with the path towards the EU. At the same time, the powerful oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili speaks of a “global war party” that practices interference…
R. The Prime Minister uses exactly the same “war party” language for all opponents, who he considers to represent foreign interests, including me. They call me a traitor to the army, the head of the war party, the leader of the revolution. It applies to any public or private person who disagrees on any point. This means that we are already in an authoritarian regime. It’s scary, because with such hateful language, there is no room for any compromise. And it is a language, furthermore, very appreciated by our neighbors to the north.
Q. 80% of the Georgian population is pro-European. With such a proportion, can they lose the next elections?
R. I am very confident, simply because there is no other option. In a country with 20% of the territory occupied, that has known all the Russian occupations in all forms, that has known a Russia that banned the Georgian language, that erased the frescoes of our churches, that demolished churches, that banned the church Georgia during an important period of the Russian empire, no other option is possible than the option in favor of Europe. It is often said that the population, particularly in the countryside, does not really know the European Union. It’s true. But what he knows firsthand is the independence of Georgia. The West and Europe are our true family. We cannot remain isolated before a neighbor to the north with whom Georgia has never started any confrontation, and never will, because he is aware of the difference in size and means. But it is very clear that we know that Russia, the imperialist Russia that we see in action in Ukraine, would not respect a Georgia that was isolated, alone before it in this Caucasus that has become so important on the geopolitical and geostrategic level.
Russia is not winning its war in Ukraine
Q. Is Georgia the new point of confrontation between the EU and Russia?
R. Today it is not a point of military confrontation. Russia is waging its war in Ukraine and, on the other hand, it is not winning it. This immense army, supposedly invincible, has been trying to advance a few kilometers for two years. And look here. Georgia has been invaded, yes, occupied, but it has not changed its relations with NATO – the military exercises have continued – or with the EU. For our part, there will never be recourse to military confrontation. The battle is peaceful. We ask for clarity in the EU’s positions. This is what the population needs.
Q. In parts of the EU, a large turnout in the June elections is not expected. Do you have to be abroad to feel this desire for Europe?
R. It happens often: the great advantages of the EU are better recognized from abroad. For the Georgian population, there is no doubt that additional security lies in the EU. It is within this Euro-Atlantic border, with NATO, where there is no danger of attack or aggression. In recent years we have seen that, despite all the threats that Russia has been able to make, it does not cross this Rubicon line. So, for Georgia, the only way to have security without having war is in Europe.
Q. And NATO?
R. Accession to the EU and NATO will certainly happen together, but the process that makes us a member of the EU family in a broader sense is already very important for the perception of security. The only danger of war here is to leave us alone face to face with Russia.
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