West will not take drastic steps while waiting for results of Georgia’s election – Johnny Melikyan

 
What is happening not only between Brussels and Tbilisi but also between Washington and Tbilisi can be called a crisis, which has deepened over the past months, expert on Georgian studies Johnny Melikyan told Alpha News, referring to the statement of the EU ambassador to Georgia that the country’s EU accession process is suspended.

“If in the past the leaders of the ruling team made some pro-Western statements, today Brussels and Washington have already taken retaliatory steps. In particular, on the one hand, the military exercises have been cancelled, and on the other hand, 30 million euros in military aid have been frozen. All this shows that this crisis has deepened.

It is important to note that the West will not take very drastic steps while waiting for the results of Georgia’s election, but an attempt is being made to raise the wave of protest, and all these steps or statements are aimed at those citizens who, being concerned about the European future of Georgia, may take part in some kind of anti-government demonstrations,” the expert said.

According to our interlocutor, Saakashvili’s teammates may join this or that pole and change the situation.

“There are several scenarios related to the results of the elections: to recognize or not recognize the defeat of these authorities. If the Georgian Dream Party wins, the West either recognizes that election result or not. There are two scenarios: in the case of recognition, there will be de-escalation and new dynamics in these relations, and if the West does not recognize, Georgia’s internal political life will become even more tense, and it depends on how the government will act, what steps will be taken, what protests will be held, and how they will be organized and controlled.

The future of this government will depend on all of that. In this way, the work of the West becomes easier because, with the new authorities, Saakashvili’s teammates will be active on different poles. They can join at any moment, and that political force with the imprisoned former president can come to power, and in this case, the relations can be dramatically improved. All this will be greatly influenced by the US presidential election and the events taking place in the region,” Johnny Melikyan concluded. https://alphanews.am/ktrouk-qayleri-henc-arevmoutqy-chi-gna/