In a rare TV appearance on the government’s mouthpiece Imedi TV, Bidzina Ivanishvili spoke of the upcoming elections, foreign security risks, sanctions, prospects of resetting relations with the West, and the ruling party’s significant achievements. In a lengthy, pre-recorded interview, the billionaire once again accused the West of blackmailing Georgian authorities and attempting to involve Georgia in a conflict with Russia. Read more about this interview here.
Thirteen EU countries’ foreign ministers issued a joint statement expressing their hope that Georgians will be able to choose their future and that their choice will be for the country’s European future. In a joint statement, the ministers also expressed concern for Georgia’s European future, noting that as friends of Georgia they “feel the necessity to recall the EU’s position on Georgia and to correct misperceptions and intended mischaracterizations concerning Georgia’s European aspirations.”
On October 21, the EU Foreign and Security Policy Lead Spokesperson Peter Stano discussed EU assistance to Georgia to combat Russian disinformation, saying that “there is no dedicated EU mission helping Georgia to increase its resilience to fight foreign interference and disinformation, because unfortunately in this case the disinformation comes also from the official side, from the governing authorities.”
An international news agency, Bloomberg, reported that Russia had hacked almost all of Georgian government agencies and major companies between 2017 and 2020. According to Bloomberg, among those hacked were Georgia’s Foreign Ministry, Finance Ministry, National Bank, Central Election Commission, and major energy and telecommunications providers, including the pro-government Imedi TV and Maestro. Most agencies and companies mentioned in the Bloomberg News article declined to comment.
Commenting on the Moldovan elections, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze criticized the EU’s preferential treatment of Moldova over Georgia, casting doubt on Moldova’s democracy and the legitimacy of Sunday’s elections. “With these elections, Moldova could not pass any democracy test… They (EU) put Moldova ahead of us. If any critical statements are necessary, they should be made regarding Moldova,” PM Kobakhidze told journalists.
The Interior Ministry (MIA) responded to the TV report conducted by Nodar Meladze’s Saturday on TV Pirveli, which focused on the allegedly unlawful practice of law enforcement agencies of mixing tear gas with water when using water cannons to disrupt the protests against the Foreign Agents law. The MIA admits to this practice, claiming that it is in accordance with the Law on Police and European standards.
The Data of the Day
The National Statistics Office (Geostat) has released preliminary data indicating that Georgia’s foreign trade increased by 3.7% year-on-year, reaching a total value of USD 16.778 billion in January-September 2024. In the same period, Georgia’s exports increased by 4.1% to USD 4.787 billion, while imports grew by 3.6% to USD 11.991 billion.
According to Geostat, Turkey was Georgia’s largest trade partner with USD 2.334 billion in trade volume, followed by Russia with USD 1.836 billion, the United States with USD 1.473 billion, China with USD 1.428 billion, and Azerbaijan with USD 957 million.