Comparing the current situation in Georgia with the events of 2008 there is a primitive act to do, he said. Then the country was at war and all the people of Georgia were defending their freedom from the invading occupiers.
Nearly 17 years ago, the then president of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus and leaders of Latvia, Estonia and Poland went to Tbilisi to voice their support for the country’s democracy and people.
"The people of Georgia are now divided evenly in half. One half is turning towards Russia, the other wants its future in Europe," the head of state told TV3 television on Monday evening.
The president said the option of going to Tbilisi had been seriously discussed among the Baltic and Polish leaders in Klaipėda two weeks ago. However, it was decided that the visit would be risky as the pro-Russian government could try to discredit the countries, according to Nausėda.
"Let us imagine (…). The presidents fly to a country where airport, the army, the police, all the power structures are under the control of the Georgian Dream. There could have been all sorts of developments – we could have not got off the plane, the red carpet could have been rolled out and Bidzina Ivanishvili, for example, could have greeted us (…). In that case, the result would not have been achieved, and the idea itself would have been discredited," the president emphasised.
The unrest in Georgia started in October, when the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party won the disputed election.
A fresh wave of protests erupted in end-November, after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the ruling party announced that the government was suspending talks on Georgia’s accession to the EU until the end of 2028. The decision sparked protests which the government is cracking down against using brutal force, including rubber bullets, teargas and water cannons. Hundreds of protesters were detained.