Ruling party head vows Gov’t will "do everything” to prevent country from being "dragged into war"
Kobakhidze noted the “xenophobic campaign” aimed at inciting aggression against Russian citizens, which “should lead to escalation and incidents”. Photo: Georgian Dream Press Office
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Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday said involvement of Georgia in the military conflict amid Russia's war in Ukraine would bring the “most severe consequences to our country and its citizens”, and stressed the Government would "do everything" to prevent the country from being "dragged into war".
We all remember provocative actions of the party of 'war and betrayal' [the opposition United National Movement party] such as holding anti-government rallies right after the start of the war [in Ukraine], demanding the imposition of sanctions on Russia, the demand to send volunteers to Ukraine, and so on. [...] However, what they failed to achieve in a direct way, they are now trying to achieve in an indirect way, with a xenophobic campaign”, the GD official said.
Kobakhidze noted the “xenophobic campaign” aimed at inciting aggression against Russian citizens, which “should lead to escalation and incidents”.
All this serves the only purpose - to somehow drag Georgia into a military conflict. The Georgian Dream party condemns the xenophobic campaign, which blatantly contradicts the Constitution of Georgia and international legal acts in the field of basic human rights and freedoms”, he continued.
We would like to remind the public once again that the involvement of Georgia in the military conflict, which the 'war party' [the United National Movement] and its partners want, will bring the most severe consequences to our country and our citizens. Therefore, the Government will do everything to prevent the country from being dragged into war”, Kobakhidze concluded in his comments.
Kobakhidze on Thursday rejected the calls of the Lelo for Georgia opposition party for imposing visa requirements for Russian and Belarusian citizens to prevent security threats in Georgia on the backdrop of Russia’s war in Ukraine by calling it a “deliberate, xenophobic campaign that is absolutely disgraceful”.
In his comments over the matter Kobakhidze stressed that there was no place for “xenophobia” in Georgia.
Irakli Zarkua, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, has called on opposition parties in Georgia to avoid "acting like the fifth column" in the country amid the crisis of the war in Ukraine.
The citizens living in Georgia’s Russian-occupied territories should know the Government’s position that the country’s territorial integrity can only be restored through peaceful means and not through use of force, Sozar Subari, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, said at a Parliament plenary sitting today.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday rejected the calls of the Lelo for Georgia opposition party for imposing visa requirements for Russian and Belarusian citizens to prevent security threats in Georgia on the backdrop of Russia’s war in Ukraine by calling it a “deliberate, xenophobic campaign that is absolutely disgraceful”.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said the Georgian Government would “always work” to ensure restoration of its territorial integrity and unification of “sisters and brothers” across the occupation line, but the objective would not be accomplished through war.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday called on the public to disassociate themselves from a “discriminatory campaign” against Russian citizens in Georgia, claiming the “sole purpose” of speculation on number of Russian nationals entering the country and calls for imposing visa requirement for them was “to turn Georgia into a second front” amid the war in Ukraine, and adding xenophobia and chauvinism “has never been and will never be” a part of Georgian culture.
Iago Khvichia, an MP from the Girchi opposition party, on Friday backed comments by Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, that highlighted calls for imposing visa requirements on Russian citizens were coming from opposition members who had ruled to lift visa rules on Russian nationals while in power as part of the United National Movement Government in 2011.