PM: Georgia would be “at war” if imprisoned former President Saakashvili was in power
The Government head said the “absolutely baseless accusations” against his Government were aimed “to somehow open a second front in Georgia [amid the war in Ukraine].” Photo: Government Administration
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If the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili was in power today there would be a war in Georgia, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Wednesday.
Garibashvili accused a part of the political opposition in Georgia of using “baseless accusations” against the Government over its stance on the conflict in Ukraine, and said a “second Mariupol” would take place if Georgia had a Saakashvili-led government in the present, in reference to the Russian devastation of the Ukrainian city since the Kremlin’s invasion of the country in February.
The Government head said the “absolutely baseless accusations” against his Government were aimed “to somehow open a second front in Georgia [amid the war in Ukraine].”
If we imagine just for a second that [former Prime Minister and ruling Georgian Dream party founder] Bidzina Ivanishvili had not gotten rid of this destructive force [the United National Movement party] under Saakashvili [in 2012 elections], today I guarantee you that Saakashvili would have been in power again and there would have been another Mariupol [in Georgia],” Garibashvili told the local press.
Garibashvili also alleged Saakashvili’s clandestine return to Georgia ahead of the municipal elections in the country in October last year had been “with the sole purpose of destabilising the country, staging a revolution, [overseeing] mass killings, including the assassination of opposition leaders, and [holding] a coup”.
He added the developments would have meant "the start of a new war in the occupied country”, referencing the occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions of Georgia, recognised as independent states by Russia since its war with Georgia in 2008.
The PM said he had “crushed hopes for all supposed ‘friends’ who wanted a war in our country” by taking positions on the Ukraine war that avoided another conflict in Georgia, adding “there will be no second front and no second war” in the country under his Government.
Certain sources are releasing “falsified conversations” in order to cause “mislead the public” and achieve a starting of a war in Georgia, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Wednesday in response to a release of an alleged recording of a call between Russian businessman Vladimer Evtushenkov and former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili this week.
Comments by Ukrainian Presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovych confirm that if the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili were in power in Georgia, the country would be embroiled in a war, Thea Tsulukiani, the Georgian Vice Prime Minister and Culture Minister, said on Tuesday.
Georgia’s imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili is not a political prisoner and should be held accountable for actions during his presidency, Aleko Elisashvili, the Chairperson of the Citizens opposition party, said on Tuesday.
Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, on Tuesday claimed the existence of a “disinformation campaign” being carried out “against Georgia” with the aim of “causing unrest and involving the country in a war” following a release of an unconfirmed audio recording of an alleged call between Russian businessman Vladimer Evtushenkov and former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday said he hoped the recently announced referendum for Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region to join Russia would “not have a continuation”.
The Georgian Government has a “principled position” on not allowing “any legal entity or individual” to use the territory of Georgia to circumvent international sanctions imposed against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Wednesday.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said the question of the Government using military means to reclaim the Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) was “absolutely ruled out”.
Andriy Kasyanov, the Acting Ambassador of Ukraine to Georgia, on Thursday said his Government welcomed the statement by the Georgian Prime Minister on the “principled position” of his Government over not allowing the use of the territory of Georgia for circumventing international sanctions placed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
The Department of Strategic Communication of the Georgian Government on Thursday rejected as “disinformation” a tweet by a researcher of the Georgian-based Economic Policy Research Center thinktank that alleged Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili had claimed Georgia’s Western partners had wanted to drag the country “into the war” in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Providing military assistance to Ukraine and opening a second front in Georgia in the war are the two questions the Georgian Government cannot be expected to take part in, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said on Thursday in an interview with the Georgian Public Broadcaster.