Gia Volski, the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Thursday said the statement of the Ukrainian Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak about the Georgian Government’s stance over the war in Ukraine “could be assessed as an affront”.
The response comes after Podolyak on Wednesday said “even after ten and a half months of the war, the Georgian Government does not understand whose side it should be on”, in reference to the ongoing hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.
In his remarks over the matter, Volski accused the Ukrainian official of either “continuing the policy of [Georgia’s] opposition United National Movement party” or “practically failing to see what is happening around Ukraine and in the region”.
Podolyak's statement is an affront. If he did not understand which side Georgia stands after the country made such important decisions regarding Russia - such as the appeal to the International Criminal Court [and support for] the exclusion of Russia from a number of international organisations, he either continues the policy of the United National Movement in vain, or practically practically does not see what is happening around Ukraine and in the region”, the Parliament official said.
Volski also highlighted a series of humanitarian assistance provided by the Georgian Government to Ukraine following the Russian invasion.
We don't have a tank to deliver to Ukraine, but we do have generators and some humanitarian aid resources that we deliver. [...] We have the resources to help the Ukrainian people living in Georgia, to give their children the opportunity to study at school and to finance their teachers”, he said in reference to aid packages approved for Ukraine and support measures adopted for Ukrainian nationals in Georgia since the start of the war.