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Eurasianet (21 July 2025)

Irakli Machaidze

Leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream party in Tbilisi are showing no signs of reversing their authoritarian political course after the European Union threatened to suspend visa-free travel privileges for all Georgians, unless the government takes fast action to put the country back on a democratic path.

Georgian Dream leaders have characterized EU talk about suspending visa-free travel as “blackmail.” In pushing back, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze responded to the EU ultimatum by repeating a long-used trope that Brussels is somehow striving to embroil Georgia in the Russia-Ukraine war, and that surrendering to Brussels’ demands will somehow require Georgia to abandon a peaceful political course.

“If the question arises of either peace and stability or visa-free, of course we will prioritize peace and stability,” he said.

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