'Russia is now testing new hybrid strategies' Georgia's Zourabichvili | Conflict Zone

Since independence in 1991, Georgia has made several attempts to move closer to the West and has even enshrined its aspiration to join NATO and the EU in its constitution.

So, when the ruling pro-Russian Georgian Dream party paused EU accession talks in November, protesters took to the streets, where they have remained since.

"I don't intend to be in exile," a defiant Salome Zourabichvili told DW’s Sarah Kelly at the Munich Security Conference. Zourabichvili, who has become the face of the protest movement, maintains that she is the only legitimate president of Georgia, even after being forced from office — following disputed elections that the opposition says were rigged with Moscow's help.

She also cautioned against drawing any conclusions about US-sponsored peace talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, saying Vladimir Putin hasn’t won the war in three years and hasn’t won the peace either.

#conflictzone #georgia #russia

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