West behind latest coup attempt in Georgia – Tbilisi mayor
Foreign governments instigated a “coup” attempt in Georgia, the mayor Tbilisi, Kakha Kaladze, has claimed, referring to recent protests in the South Caucasus nation.
The Georgian government has repeatedly cried foul over alleged external interference in the nation’s internal affairs. It says the West has sought to depose the ruling Georgian Dream party, which has consistently refused to antagonize neighboring Russia over the Ukraine conflict.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Kaladze claimed that ahead of the municipal elections on October 4, “a campaign had been underway for months regarding a coup d’état,” backed by foreign actors.
According to the official, “hundreds of millions” were spent on the effort through non-governmental organizations, with certain Western ambassadors openly “inciting violence” in Georgia.
On Wednesday, US Senators Jim Risch and Jeanne Shaheen issued a statement accusing the Georgian authorities of persecuting the opposition and attempting to “silence dissent,” as well as of “making baseless allegations” against former US government employees.
Kaladze responded by describing the US lawmakers as being “under the influence of the Global War Party.”
Speaking on national television on Monday, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze made similar claims, alleging that foreign powers had backed the opposition, whom he characterized as “foreign agents.”
Opposition protests, which quickly descended into clashes with police, erupted last weekend as municipal election result projections indicated that the ruling Georgian Dream party held a solid lead across the country.
The unrest was the latest in a series of similar demonstrations that have gripped Georgia in recent years. They reached a climax in October 2024, following presidential and parliamentary elections, when the opposition accused the authorities of fraud. Protesters had previously also cited a perceived stalling of the EU accession process by the Georgian government. Officials have dismissed all allegations.
The EU openly backed the demonstrators, who according to Kobakhidze, were “financed by foreign special services” in a manner similar to the 2014 Maidan coup in Ukraine.
