**EU’s Visa Liberalization in Jeopardy, but ‘Georgian Dream’ Not Worried**
The European Union has set a deadline for Georgia to meet certain conditions to avoid suspension of its visa liberalization program. However, according to political scientist Paata Zakareishvili, the ruling party “Georgian Dream” is unlikely to fulfill these conditions by August.
In an interview with PalitraNews’s program “Day’s Newsroom,” Zakareishvili stated that the EU will not abruptly cancel visa liberalization, but rather wait until October-November when a report on Georgia’s progress will be submitted. He believes that “Georgian Dream” is simply following its instincts to win local elections scheduled for October 4.
**Local Elections: A Delayed Release of Prisoners**
Zakareishvili claims that once the local elections are held, “Georgian Dream” will release some prisoners, including those from the youth. He speculates that this might happen if the opposition coalition, United National Movement, is indeed not participating in the elections.
According to Zakareishvili, the EU’s decision on visa liberalization will be based on the report submitted after the local elections. This suggests that any harsh political decisions will only be made after the elections. He also notes that similar fate awaits the implementation of the ‘MEGOBARI Act’ in the US, which will not be implemented before the elections.
**Russia’s Economic Stranglehold on Armenia**
Zakareishvili addressed reports of Georgia obstructing the import of liquefied gas from Russia to Armenia. He stated that Russia is trying to strangle the Armenian economy through others’ hands, and those hands belong to Georgia.
In his opinion, Georgia is just a pawn in Russia’s game, doing its dirty work without any moral justification. Zakareishvili believes that by strangling the Armenian economy, Russia is simply trying to suppress Armenia and make it behave. He finds this behavior utterly unacceptable and immoral.
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