Recall how the candidate status was used as a form of blackmail to incite chaos in our country and divide society. Such a statement made today the Prime Minister of Georgia.

“In the midst of the Ukraine conflict, when peace was paramount for Georgia, some European figures sought to provoke unrest using candidate status.

Organizations directly funded by the EU were openly involved in this revolution attempt. For nearly two years, the theme of candidate status was weaponized to fuel radicalism and so-called polarization in Georgia, reflecting an unhealthy attitude toward our nation.

Now, we see that these people have replaced the candidate status with opening accession talks. Today, opening negotiations is used exactly the same way as an instrument to blackmail our country and divide society, as the candidate status was used before. This is also a completely artificial phenomenon, especially since the date of opening negotiations is not at all dependent on the accession date”, - said Irakli Kobakhidze.