Coalition for Change Addresses West in Open Letter
By Liza Mchedlidze
Monday, November 17, 2025
The Coalition for Change, an alliance of three pro-Western political parties, has issued an urgent appeal to the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States, calling for decisive action against Georgia's ruling authorities. In an open letter, the coalition urged the imposition of personal sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, and other de facto officials, as well as the suspension of political and financial engagement with the government. The coalition also called for support for the MEGOBARI Act in the United States Senate and for the recognition of Georgia's democratic opposition, civil society and 5th President Salome Zourabichvili as legitimate representatives of the Georgian people's European aspirations.
"Dear friends of Georgia, we, the leaders of a pro-European and Euro-Atlantic integration-oriented coalition, are writing to you at a decisive moment for our country, when defenders of democracy in Georgia and the forces loyal to our shared transatlantic values are being declared enemies of the state by Ivanishvili's regime," the letter reads.
The coalition stated that almost every pro-Western political leader in Georgia has recently been accused of sabotage as that the State Security Service, the Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs have jointly initiated criminal proceedings against most major opposition figures. According to the letter, while these actions are portrayed domestically as defending sovereignty, they are in reality an attack on Georgia's European future.
"Today, when the Georgian Dream regime is attempting to outlaw the country's main pro-Western political forces, Akhali, United National Movement and Lelo, and when state institutions have been turned into instruments of repression in the hands of Russian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia stands not only before an internal political crisis but also before a grave moral test for the entire democratic world," the coalition wrote.
The letter stressed that "symbolic" measures from Western governments are no longer sufficient.
"We call on our partners, the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States, to take decisive steps consistent with established democratic values and international obligations. The time for symbolic actions is over. What is now at stake is the credibility of freedom itself," it stated.
Among the measures requested, the coalition urged sanctions on Ivanishvili, Kobakhidze and other officials responsible for political persecution and collaboration with Russia. It called on Western partners to suspend any official engagement with the Georgian government until political prisoners are released and constitutional order is restored. The letter also asked that Georgia's democratic opposition, civil society and 5th President Zourabichvili be recognized as the true representatives of the country's European path.
The coalition concluded by warning that the situation in Georgia could have wider regional consequences. "Georgia's place is in Europe, but Europe cannot open its doors to an autocracy governed by Russia. What is happening today in Tbilisi will have a significant impact beyond its borders tomorrow. The fate of freedom in the Black Sea region and the moral strength of the democratic world now depends on whether our shared principles will protect us with the firmness they deserve," it said.
The letter ended with a note of gratitude to Western partners for their support. "Thank you for your friendship, your solidarity and for the courage to stand beside the Georgian people in this historic moment," the coalition wrote.
