Parliament official says “forces” in Ukrainian gov’t want to “play role of firestarter” in Georgia-Ukraine relations

Mikheil Sarjveladze, the chair of the Georgian parliament’s committee on human rights, on Friday said there were “forces” in the Ukrainian government who wanted to “play the role of firestarter” in relations between the two countries.

Sarjveladze was commenting on the decision of the security council of Ukraine to impose sanctions on family members of Georgia’s former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, and said the move was “so absurd and unreasonable” that “it cannot be taken seriously”.

“It is obvious that there are certain people and political forces in the Ukrainian government who have a great desire to play the role of a firestarter in Georgian-Ukrainian relations”, the parliament official said.

The decision on sanctions is so absurd and unreasonable that, to tell the truth, it is still impossible to take it seriously. This may be an attempt to blackmail Georgian authorities or individuals in Georgia to bring about the kind of disaster in Georgia that is happening in Ukraine”, he continued. 

Sarjveladze stressed Ukrainian people need “not a war-torn Georgia but a strong one”, as a “friendly state”.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday issued a decree sanctioning four Georgian citizens, which includes the blocking of assets, restriction of trade operations, flights and transportation on Ukraine’s territory, as well as suspension of economic and financial obligations and more.