Giorgi Gakharia, leader of the opposition party “Gakharia for Georgia,” wrote on the social media platform X that the Kremlin is accelerating the “de facto annexation” of the occupied Tskhinvali region, promoting its integration by appointing its own proxies—specifically, the appointment of a Russian citizen and official as the acting de facto leader of Tskhinvali.
The opposition politician, who is currently outside Georgia, accused the ruling “Georgian Dream” party and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of remaining silent and failing to condemn Moscow’s actions in the region. He noted that the authorities are not reacting to the violation of the country’s sovereignty and are blocking his party’s resolution in the Georgian parliament condemning these processes, which, according to him, amounts to passive consent.
Gakharia called on the West to condemn Russia’s actions and support Georgia’s European integration.
“The Kremlin has accelerated the process of de facto annexation of the occupied Tskhinvali region, seeking to integrate Georgian territories into the Russian Federation by appointing Russian officials to leadership positions in the occupation administration and advancing the implementation of the so-called ‘integration agreement’ signed on May 9, 2026. In the face of these extremely dangerous processes, the Georgian government and Prime Minister Kobakhidze remain silent, refusing to condemn the blatant violations of Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
In a shocking display of collaboration with the occupying authorities, the Georgian Dream party continues to reject our draft parliamentary resolution condemning the ongoing annexation process.
Against the backdrop of Georgian Dream’s policies, which undermine Georgia’s fundamental national interests, we call on the international community to continue condemning Russia’s violations of international law and to strongly support the Georgian people in defending their sovereignty, territorial integrity, and European future.
I would like to remind the current government of Georgia that it will not escape responsibility for betraying Georgia and its territorial integrity,” the politician wrote.
