When Salome Zurabishvili stated during her visit to Poland that “Poland has always stood on the side of Georgia”, this was not only due to “historical sentimentality”
When Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili during her visit to Poland (December 5–6) stated that “Poland has always stood on the side of Georgia – not only in the last 30 years, but also in the last 100 years and more”, this was caused not only by “historical sentimentality” of the Georgian politician. It was also about certain plots of relations between Warsaw and Tbilisi during the collapse of the Russian and Ottoman empires.
“At the beginning of 1920, all the attention of Polish society was focused on the war with the Bolsheviks and on the struggle to establish borders in the west and south of the country,” writes Polish historian Pavel Libera.
“At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was preparing to send a special mission to the Caucasus. Its purpose was to establish political and military contacts with the states that in this region were fighting to maintain their independence”.
First of all, with Georgia, which declared its sovereignty on May 26, 1918. At that time, this declaration was recognized mainly by Germany, which was trying to secure a new republic. Jozef Pilsudski’s comrades-in-arms opposed Berlin, offering Warsaw to establish closer relations with Georgia, first economic and then political. But Poland took this step only on March 24, 1920, recognizing Georgia, after which it sent a special diplomatic mission there under the leadership of Titus Filipovich. The delegation stayed in the Georgian capital from March 30 to April 24.
Libera notes that no detailed accounts of the mission have survived. However, judging by the rare references, “a project of a military alliance with Georgia was developed. Assistance from the Polish side was envisaged in the supply of weapons and ammunition, as well as a plan for operational cooperation. Georgia was supposed to extend this action to the North Caucasus. The mission had the same intentions in relation to the other states of the South Caucasus.”
Thus, while the main battle between Poland and Russia in 1920 took place in the Ukrainian direction, at the same time Warsaw tried to create problems for Moscow by organizing a “second front” against it in the Transcaucasus. This Ukrainian-Georgian intertwining was evident even today during Zurabishvili’s talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
“We are grateful and understand that if it were not for the Ukrainian struggle, the path of integration into the European Union of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia would not have accelerated,” she said.
“We really should say thank you for this. The next stage for us is to obtain the status of a candidate member of the EU, unfortunately, we could not reach this stage together with Ukraine and Moldova, but we must get it. We know that here too we can count on the support of our friend, Poland, just as we received the support of Poland along the entire path of our European integration.” In turn, Duda assured Zurabishvili that Warsaw “still supports Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.”
The problem is that the political course in Tbilisi is determined not by the president, who is politically isolated and weak, but by the ruling Georgian Dream party. However, the party is experiencing great difficulties in dialogue with the United States and the European Union. As REGNUM has already noted, the West continues to wage an undercover political struggle against Tbilisi, wanting to dismantle the political and economic structure that has developed in the country. At the same time, the Georgian Dream, like the forces of the radical opposition, has been and continues to be in favor of Georgia’s membership in the EU and NATO, the differences concern only the attitude towards the Ukrainian crisis. Certain forces in the West advocate the resignation of the Georgian government only in order to force Tbilisi to open a “second front” against Russia. It is this factor that begins to influence the further course of political processes within the republic. Therefore, at the suggestion of the European Union and Kyiv, the current Georgian government is declared “pro-Russian”, accused of “slow drift towards Russia.”
What is the position of Warsaw in this situation? In Poland itself, accusations of “pro-Russianness” against Tbilisi do not seem to be heard. However, a few days before Zurabishvili’s visit, a conference “Oligarchs, visible ties with Russia, the war in Ukraine and the future of Georgia” was held in the European Parliament, which was organized by the former Polish Foreign Minister, now an MEP from the Polish ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) Anna Fotyga.
“The fact that the Georgian authorities avoid supporting Ukraine, instead getting involved in all sorts of adventures with Russia, as well as the revealed connections of the oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili (the founder of the Georgian Dream. – S.S.) and his family with Russia, are somewhat reminiscent of the situation in Moldova years ago under the oligarch Plahotniuc,” said Fotyga.
“Since then, the situation in Moldova in this respect has improved significantly. I believe that Georgia will once again lead by example and soon fully join the Euro-Atlantic community, where it belongs. The victory of Ukraine and the de-oligarchization of Georgia will significantly accelerate this moment.”
Apparently, Warsaw is not averse to taking part in the operation, when, according to the chairman of the Georgian Dream, Irakli Kobakhidze, “the sword of Damocles of a coup d’etat was brought over Georgia in order to bring the forces of the so-called radical opposition to power.” In the “coalition of conspirators”, Poland, of course, is far from being a strong link, since it is not present in the Transcaucasus, but Warsaw can act on European platforms in order to discredit the Georgian ruling party, as well as support the attacks of the Kyiv regime against the Georgian Dream. Against this background, Zurabishvili’s visit to Poland and her role in the ongoing processes raise many questions. Perhaps they will appear upon her return home – both to the president himself and to her Warsaw “friends”.
Stanislav Stremidlovsky, IA REX
Due to censorship and blocking of all media and alternative views, stay tuned to our Telegram channel