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”.
Responding to “baffling” claims by the Ukrainian diplomatic representation in the country that the Georgian authorities had neglected some of their requests for aid, Javelidze claimed “every request or appeal” had been “discussed in detail and reacted to”.
The Georgian Government has ensured the maximum aid it could since the beginning of the [Russia-Ukraine] conflict in late February. We have never neglected the needs of the Ukrainian people”, the official said.
The comments follow statements by Andriy Kasianov, the Charge D'affaires of Ukraine in Georgia, who earlier this week said his office had requested provision of generators in the form of aid from the Georgian Government a month ago, with “no response so far”.
Javelidze said the Georgian Government had "never left" Ukraine's requests without proper reactions. Photo: Government press office.
Kasianov also noted humanitarian aid was “crucial”, with millions of Ukrainians left without regular access to heat, electricity and water following Russian missile strikes on critical infrastructure across the country.
In his comments, Javelidze highlighted the Government had spent ₾32 million (about $12 million) for the needs of Ukrainian nationals freeling the war to Georgia as of December 1, noting “[o]ur support for the Ukrainian people has never stopped and the [claim on lack of aid] is baffling”.
The Head of the Administration also pointed out Georgia was maintaining the leading place among 190 countries in the scale of humanitarian sent to Ukraine by post since the outbreak of hostilities.
Other forms of support - including 26,000 Ukrainian nationals in Georgia receiving monthly aid, provision of medical services, and access to education in native language for 1,565 students in schools across the country - were also noted by Javelidze, who said over 900 Ukrainians had been provided with medical aid as part of referral programmes at Georgian healthcare venues.