Parliament Speaker: military aid to Ukraine, opening second front are questions Georgia cannot take part in

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. 

In comments about the Government’s support for Ukraine “on all international platforms” and through humanitarian aid and refugee reception, Papuashvili also noted the issues it could not accept complaints about.

We have a fairly clear and unequivocal stance on the sanctions [against Russia] - that they will not be bypassed [by using Georgian territory]. [T]here are two issues where Georgia cannot participate. This is military assistance [to Ukraine] and [opening] a second front [in Georgia for the conflict]. If there are any complaints about these two issues, we can confidently say that we will certainly not accept these complaints,” Papuashvili said.

The Parliament official also noted Georgia’s solidarity and support for Ukraine despite the risks associated with the ongoing presence of Russian troops in the occupied Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).

Georgia and Moldova express solidarity with Ukraine without having a NATO security umbrella. We do not have an umbrella of the European Union’s economic solidarity, or security and support. Regular Russian troops are present in our countries in the form of the occupation. Nevertheless, we are in solidarity with Ukraine and support it,” he concluded.