Ruling party head: “city of peace” Tbilisi wishes same for Ukrainian friends
The party chair called the statements “shameful” and added “some people” were “so hostile to [the idea of] peace that world peace irritates them”. Photo: Georgian Dream Press Office
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Irakli Kobakhidze, the chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said Georgia’s capital Tbilisi would be a “city of peace” and added the country was wishing the same for Ukraine amid the Russian invasion of the latter.
Kobakhidze’s comment came following claims by a part of the domestic opposition that Tbilisi city authorities’ selection of the slogan “City of Peace” message to mark the New Year's Eve was a “dig” at Ukraine.
The party chair called the statements “shameful” and added “some people” were “so hostile to [the idea of] peace that word peace irritates them”.
“Actually, they are not irritated by the inscription and slogan, but by peace in our country, [as] they are the party of war. They have direct intentions, which they cannot hide”, the GD official said in a repeat of ruling authorities’ claims that a part of the opposition is campaigning to involve the country in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
They want war in Georgia. Therefore, they are fighting not against slogans and inscriptions, but against peace in the country. There will be peace in Georgia and Tbilisi will be a city of peace. This is the wish that each of us has for each Tbilisi resident, and we have the same wish for our Ukrainian friends. Speculation on this issue is shameful”, Kobakhidze concluded.
Tbilisi mayor Kakha Kaladze on Wednesday said there was “no political message” in city authorities’ selection of the “City of Peace” message. He stressed peace was “very important for our country, for our city”, adding it was “the first thing that anyone longs for” on the backdrop of challenges in the region.
Kaladze also said the “heroic” Ukrainian people were fighting for freedom and peace, and said it was “embarrassing” to “have to make explanations” on the selection of New Year’s Eve message on the backdrop of the developments.
Victor Dolidze, the head of the Georgian mission to NATO, on Wednesday said it was “symbolic” the alliance’s ministerial in Bucharest this week “once again” stressed Georgia and Ukraine would “definitely” join the bloc, 14 years after the pledge was first made at a NATO summit in the city.
Georgian parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday praised Germany’s role in and support for his country’s European integration agenda, at an event in Berlin marking the 30th anniversary since the establishment of the diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Tbilisi mayor Kakha Kaladze on Wednesday said there was “no political message” in city authorities’ selection of the “City of Peace” message to mark the New Year's Eve in the capital.
Romanian, Latvian and Slovenian foreign ministers pledged their support for Georgia’s NATO integration at the ongoing meeting of the alliance’s FMs in Bucharest on Tuesday.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said there could be a “diplomatic response” if an allegation by Czech ambassador Petr Mikyska about Czech-made products being exported from Georgia to Russia was confirmed to have been made.
Vehicle traffic movement in Tbilisi will be restricted due to the installation of New Year’s decorations and illuminations starting at midnight on Sunday till Monday 06:00 AM from the First Republic Square to Freedom Square on Rustaveli Avenue, the Tbilisi City Hall announced on Sunday.
Georgia's main New Year tree was lit up in central Tbilisi in front of the parliament building on Friday, with Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze attending the festive ceremony.
The Christmas village in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi will open on December 23 at the recently renovated Orbeliani Square with a variety of holiday season decorations, shows for children, fairytale characters and more.
Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday highlighted the links between Ukrainians and Georgians in understanding the “cost of peace”, in his end-of-year message on the work of his office.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Sunday received the highest prize of the Sabino Arana Foundation for his contribution to promoting Georgian-Basque ties, democracy and human rights, the party press office said.