On June 12, Aleksey Pushkov, a Russian Senator, stated that Georgia became the first EU candidate country to reject Brussels’ directives in both domestic and foreign policy, writing on his Telegram channel in response to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s remarks about Georgia resisting liberals.
Pushkov recalled that Ursula von der Leyen, with what he described as "belligerent recommendations, neo-pagan values, and unbridled aggression toward Russia," had been politely but firmly dismissed by the Georgian authorities. He claimed her efforts to influence Georgia’s elections failed, noting that the elections did not align with her preferences and that her "protégé," Salome Zourabichvili, had been decisively rejected.
According to Pushkov, the European Union failed to orchestrate a Maidan-like movement in Tbilisi, and it was no coincidence that, as Orbán remarked, the EU now both fears Georgia and envies its economic performance. He emphasized that "the Georgian authorities prioritized the interests of their country, not the liberal dictatorship in Brussels—and they won."