World facing “World War III”, Georgian PM says in comments stressing “maintaining peace” in country as “main concern”

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday said the world was facing “World War III” on the backdrop of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and stressed maintaining “peace” and “stability” in the country was his “main concern” amid the challenges. 

Responding to a question by a domestic journalist on the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for abductions of Ukrainian children to Russia during the war, the PM pointed to a trend of “more confrontation, tension and escalation” being observed in the conflict “every day”.

Today the world is facing the threat of World War III. This estimate is not exaggerated, it is not speculation. We are witnessing further confrontation, tension and escalation every day. In these conditions, my main concern as the head of the Government - and this is also the wish of the Georgian people - is to maintain peace, stability and save our country”, Garibashvili said during his visit to the southern Marneuli municipality on Nowruz holiday on Tuesday. 

The PM also noted Government representatives and members of the ruling Georgian Dream party had reacted to the ICC ruling in their public statements.

Mamuka Mdinaradze, the head of the party in the Parliament, last week said Georgia had been among the 38 states that had applied to the Hague-based Court to investigate war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine, crediting the applications with the outcome of the warrant.