On February 21, Grigol Gegelia, a leader of the opposition coalition Strong Georgia, criticized the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party's response to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s recent statement regarding the 3+3 regional platform. Lavrov reiterated on February 19 that the platform remains open to Georgia.

Commenting on the matter, First Vice Speaker of Parliament Gia Volski stated that there are currently no conditions justifying Georgia’s participation in the platform, though he did not entirely rule it out for the future. In response, Gegelia remarked, "In the last two days, Georgia was offered two different chairs – a European one [allegedly referring to the empty seat allotted for Georgia at the informal meeting of EU candidate country representatives] and a Russian-Iranian one."

Gegelia emphasized that choosing the European chair would mean joining "a civilized space that guarantees peace, economic development, a rules-based world order, and the rule of law." In contrast, he warned that taking the Russian-Iranian chair would align Georgia with "a space characterized by chaos, low development, and violence." He stressed that this decision would be a defining moment in Georgia’s thousand-year history.

Accusing the Georgian Dream government of "flirting" with Russia, Gegelia criticized its reluctance to explicitly reject the 3+3 platform despite Russia’s ongoing occupation of 20% of Georgian territory. He claimed that the GD government is carrying out "a Russian special operation in Georgia against the interests of the Georgian nation" and called for "new parliamentary elections and a new legitimate government that will return this country to the space of prosperity, peace, and development."