Goal of Saakashvili’s return was “dragging Georgia into war” in agreement with Kyiv plans - PM
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday said the “major goal” of the currently imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili’s return from Ukraine to Georgia in 2021 had been to “spark unrest in the country and overthrow the authorities” to later “drag” Georgia into the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Speaking at the Parliament, the head of the Government claimed statements by Ukrainian officials following the start of hostilities in their country in 2022 “confirmed” Kyiv’s “motivation and determination” to see Tbilisi open the “second front” against Russia.
Ukrainian Government representatives “wished to see Saakashvili” return to office in Georgia to facilitate the goal, he added.
This plan of Georgia’s internal and foreign enemies has failed”, Garibashvili said, adding “we are not a war-minded Government - [that is why] they wanted Saakashvili to be in power [to start] a war against Russia and join Ukraine”.
The former President, who has Ukrainian citizenship and held a public post in the country, was arrested on return to Georgia in October 2021 and has been serving a six-year term for abuse of power in a case he had been convicted on.
Unfortunately, the goals announced by Ukrainian authorities are in direct coordination with the goals of the Fifth Column - their intentions, plans and actions”, Garibashvili said in reference to the United National Movement opposition party in Georgia.
Pointing to ongoing threats of “World War III” and “nuclear interventions”, the PM highlighted his Government's “major concern” was to “save the county” considering the circumstances.
Commending the “cautious and reasonable approach” of his Government in the backdrop of the security threats, the PM reminded opposition lawmakers Georgia lacked “any international security umbrella” while 20 percent of the country’s territory remained occupied by Russia, “the largest nuclear power”.
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.
The Georgian Government remains committed to the policy of peaceful de-occupation and will resist “all provocations” aimed at escalating a new military confrontation with “our Abkhaz and Ossetian brothers and sisters,” Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, said on Monday.
The ruling Georgian Dream party and opposition MPs on Sunday asserted the country was on a “peaceful path” and would not get involved in war, following remarks by Oleksiy Danilov, the Ukrainian Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, who said Georgia would “greatly help” Ukraine by opening military fronts against Russia to forcefully regain control over the occupied breakaway Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday highlighted the Government’s support for Ukraine "from the very first days" of its defence from the Russian invasion, stressing the humanitarian aid sent to the war-torn country and the political support for Ukraine in international formats.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday accused the “radical wing” of the domestic opposition of “still plotting” to spark unrest in the country following “several failures” in the plan, and told the Parliament the threat of internal destabilisation was one of the “key challenges” the Government was facing.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday denounced a “shameful resolution” of the European Parliament on the latest developments around the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili by saying “some members” of the EP aligned with “the goals and objectives of a [domestic] destructive force”.
The future of Georgia does not belong to the servants of foreign countries, but to the patriots, our future generation, the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili told the country’s Parliament on Friday.