As Georgia prepares for pivotal elections on Sunday, PM Irakli Kobakhidze spoke to Euronews about the country's history of Christianity and EU aspirations, and dismissed Russia's influence.
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00:00On the 26th of October, Georgia will hold parliamentary elections, marking a pivotal
00:06moment as the country's first under a fully proportional system.
00:12The stakes are high, with the outcome potentially shaping the nation's future integration within
00:17the EU and its movement away from Russian influence.
00:22In an interview with Euronews, Georgia's Prime Minister, Irakli Kobak-Hidze, said the nation's
00:27orthodox values make it an ideal partner to Europe.
00:31To be part of the European family is a kind of historic choice for Georgia and for Georgians.
00:37We know that we are a Christian nation and Europe was always associated with Christianity
00:46and was defending and protecting Christianity for Georgia.
00:49So that's why Europe was always a kind of natural choice for Georgia and for Georgians.
00:57Georgia was granted EU candidate status last year, but controversial legislation introduced
01:02by the government since then has put the country's accession talks at risk.
01:09Of particular concern is the Foreign Agents Bill, which critics say is based on a similar
01:14law in Russia aimed at stifling political dissent.
01:19But Georgia's Prime Minister says Russian influence is non-existent.
01:24You can say that Russia is not influential in Georgia.
01:31There are no political parties where they would enjoy their influence.
01:35There is no influential media channels with their influence.
01:41So that's why the Russian side cannot influence the elections in Georgia, essentially.
01:49The campaign environment heading into the elections has been heavily polarised and with
01:53opinion polls continuing to produce contradictory results, Georgia's future remains unclear.