Ukrainie's Honcharenko accuses Georgian Gov't of aligning with Kremlin, following Belarusian path

At a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Ukrainian MP and PACE member Oleksiy Honcharenko strongly criticized the Georgian government, accusing it of aligning with Kremlin interests and drifting toward authoritarianism reminiscent of Belarus under Alexander Lukashenko.

Honcharenko expressed concern over Georgia's decision not to sign the recent international agreement on the establishment of a special tribunal for Russian aggression, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy endorsed during his address to the Assembly. He noted that Georgia was one of only six Council of Europe member states that declined to sign the agreement, despite being a long-time victim of Russian aggression, with 20% of its territory still under Russian occupation.

He pointed to the recent imprisonment of Georgian opposition leaders as evidence of increasing political repression and questioned the motives and allegiances of the Georgian leadership, suggesting that their actions do not reflect the will of the Georgian people but rather serve external interests.

Honcharenko warned that Georgia is facing a hybrid takeover by the Kremlin, as Russia's military remains focused on Ukraine. He argued that the path Georgia is currently on mirrors the trajectory of Belarus, which he said lost its democracy first, then its sovereignty.

“This is not Bidzina Ivanishvili — he should be called Lukashvili, because he is doing Belarus’s work from within Georgia,” Honcharenko declared, drawing a direct comparison between the ruling Georgian Dream founder, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili and Belarus’s authoritarian regime.

He concluded by calling on the international community to take all necessary steps to help free Georgia from Moscow’s influence, stressing that the Georgian people deserve leaders who stand with them — not with Vladimir Putin.