PM highlights support for Ukraine “from very first days” of war
He also said David Arakhamia, the Ukrainian lawmaker and the country's chief negotiator with Russia, had urged European and American partners not to grant Georgia the European Union membership candidate status. Photo: Government Administration
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday highlighted the Government’s support for Ukraine "from the very first days" of its defence from the Russian invasion, stressing the humanitarian aid sent to the war-torn country and the political support for Ukraine in international formats.
From the very first days of the war, Georgia was one of the first countries to send humanitarian aid to Ukraine. I had a personal communication with my Ukrainian counterpart, and I personally informed him that we were sending humanitarian aid on behalf of the Georgian people and the Government. Since then, as of today, we have joined 260 resolutions [in support for Ukraine]”, Garibashvili said at his presentation of the annual report of the Government's work in the Parliament.
The head of the Georgian Government also reviewed the decision of not imposing national economic sanctions on Russia by highlighting the impact of Georgia's trade and economic relations with Russia for a "large part of citizens" of the country.
Whether we want it or not, whether we like it or not, that's the reality”, Garibashvili said on the matter.
He also said David Arakhamia, the Ukrainian lawmaker and the country's chief negotiator with Russia, had urged European and American partners not to grant Georgia the European Union membership candidate status.
Garibashvili recalled the allegations made by the Ukrainian legislator, who accused the Georgian Government of facilitating the bypassing of sanctions imposed on Russia for the invasion.
Arakhamia was one of the main initiators [of the lobbying against EU candidate status for Georgia]. I know this from our American and European colleagues and friends. He insisted that Georgia not be granted the EU membership candidate status”, the head of the Government told MPs.
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday hailed the “historic” decision of the European Commission to recommend the European Council to grant Georgia a European perspective, in an address to the Georgian Parliament.
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As soon as the European Council formally approves the recommendation of the European Commission on granting Georgia a European perspective, the Georgian Government will make sure it does “ not waste a single day” in work on relevant reforms, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Thursday.
Customs authorities in the Black Sea port of Batumi have rejected services to a freight ship sailing under the Turkish flag and carrying oil products from a company hit by the international community’s sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the Revenue Service of Georgia announced on Monday.
Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili on Monday explained procedures undertaken by professionals at customs clearances in Black Sea ports of the country in a social media post following what he called public "speculations” on the enforcement of sanctions imposed on Russia by the international community for its invasion of Ukraine.
Georgian Minister of Defence Juansher Burchuladze on Thursday said the “narrative” produced by the Ukrainian authorities towards the Georgian Government was “not correct”.
Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chairman of the Committee on Human Rights of the Georgian Parliament, on Thursday slammed Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Head of the Ukrainian President's Office, for making “unsubstantiated” allegations towards Georgian authorities.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Wednesday vowed “unwavering support” for Ukraine in a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart on the sidelines of the informal meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Prague.
The sixth international conference Glory to Ukraine, featuring top-level leaders from Europe and the United States, opened on Monday in Tbilisi to discuss the new political and security reality created as a result of the war in the country, the threats facing modern democracy and the future of European security.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Tuesday said the “struggle of the Ukrainian people” in their self-defence from the ongoing Russian invasion had “already completely changed” the world's geopolitics.
Ruling Georgian Dream party chair Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday said the list of “candidates for sanctions on the Kremlin” for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, released recently by the Ukrainian Anti-corruption Agency and including GD founder and former Prime Minister of Georgia Bidzina Ivanishvili” and several of his relatives, was “absurd”.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said the “only interest” of “certain representatives” of the Ukrainian Government was to “somehow turn Georgia into a second front” amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
The Georgian government on Tuesday said it was extending the assistance programme for Ukrainian nationals stranded in Georgia by the ongoing war in their country to May 1 next year.
The Georgian health ministry on Wednesday said there was “no delay” in provision of the social assistance programme for Ukrainian nationals stranded in Georgia by the war in their home country, in response to a post published on social media on behalf of Ukrainian citizens in Georgia and claiming aid was not reaching them.
Revaz Javelidze, the Head of the Georgian Government Administration, on Friday said the country’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili had instructed the Ministry of Economy to purchase generators for providing them as aid to Ukraine “in the shortest terms possible”.
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Givi Mikanadze, an MP of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday rejected claims by domestic opposition and several Ukrainian lawmakers that Tbilisi had refused to join a resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Ukrainian children’s forced transfer to Russia amid the ongoing war as a “part of a dirty, fake campaign”.
The Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday called on Ukrainian authorities to hand Zurab Adeishvili, the wanted former Prosecutor General and Justice Minister of Georgia, and Gia Lortkipanidze, the wanted former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, over to Georgia in response to comments by a Ukrainian official on domestic Georgian politics.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday pledged his country’s authorities would defend the sovereign interests of Ukraine, its independence and reintegration of occupied territories on the backdrop of Russia’s ongoing aggression against Kyiv, “on all international platforms” and “to the end”.
The European Union Sanctions Envoy David O’Sullivan will on Monday arrive in Georgia’s capital city of Tbilisi for a two-day visit to discuss with the Georgian authorities "issues of common interest", notably sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and their “effective” implementation.