“Georgian Dream” has chosen a path that serves authoritarian regimes, stated former Defense Minister Tina Khidasheli during her speech at the Helsinki Commission.
According to her, “Georgian Dream” has turned to Chinese companies while blocking American companies from opportunities in the “Middle Corridor.” In this context, she mentioned the Anaklia port.
“A free, democratic, Western-oriented Georgia is unacceptable to Moscow, Tehran, and increasingly problematic for Beijing. Unfortunately, the current ruling party, ‘Georgian Dream,’ has chosen a path that serves these authoritarian regimes instead of opposing them.
They have undermined institutions, rigged elections, criminalized dissenting opinions, imprisoned opposition leaders, used violence against peaceful protesters, and refused to respect the will of the Georgian people expressed at the ballot box.
‘Georgian Dream’ has deepened ties with authoritarian forces. They have called on Chinese companies while blocking American companies from opportunities in the ‘Middle Corridor.’ ‘Georgian Dream’ created a textbook case with the Anaklia port, where they expelled an American-Georgian consortium and promised a Chinese company the opportunity to take over. Fortunately, this has not yet happened, but there is a very strong interest from ‘Georgian Dream’ to pave the way for this Chinese company,” Khidasheli stated.
Khidasheli also said that the founder of “Georgian Dream,” Bidzina Ivanishvili, is linked to Chinese businesses and cited specific cases.
“There is evidence-based research confirming that Mr. Ivanishvili is personally involved in Chinese businesses. One of the first cases we investigated began in 2018 and involved a well-known Chinese company, CEFC, which some of you may recall.
This is the company whose CEO was arrested here at a New York airport while carrying large amounts of cash and bribing high-ranking UN officials. This company has a certain influence in Georgia, and Ivanishvili’s offshore companies – where his name is clearly visible, fully transparent on paper – were connected to it. That’s how it all started. That’s how Georgia began to fall into China’s orbit – with this major deal in Poti, one of Georgia’s maritime ports. Ivanishvili engaged with this notoriously corrupt Chinese company even after these individuals were arrested here in New York and after investigations took place in various parts of the world. They still continued to collaborate with them. And this is not the only case, but it is a well-documented and investigated one,” she stated.
Tina Khidasheli: A free, democratic, Western-oriented Georgia is unacceptable to Moscow, Tehran, and problematic for Beijing; “Georgian Dream” has chosen a path that serves these authoritarian regimes
