PM praises Georgian Dream ruling as “only peaceful period” of 10 years

The ruling Georgian Dream party has managed to achieve the “only peaceful period” of 10 years, ensuring peace and stability amid the challenges Georgia has been facing, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Saturday at the panel discussion on Building Security in the South Caucasus, held within the framework of the Munich Security Conference.

Garibashvili said Georgian people needed peace, stability and prosperity, which could not be achieved by war. 20 percent of Georgia’s territories have been occupied by Russia since the 2008 war between the countries, he noted, adding the country had also experienced an “indirect” war in the 90s, when Abkhazian and South Ossetian separatists had been backed by the Russians [during the inter-ethnic conflicts in the regions of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) and Abkhazia].

The Head of the Government said it was hard to say “precisely or concretely” what would happen in Ukraine, and stressed the war in Ukraine would have an impact not only on countries like Georgia and Moldova, but also on Europe and the world, as Russia was trying to “change the international order - rules-based international order”.

Garibashvili noted that there was the nuclear war “rhetoric” which would be “catastrophic” for the entire world, not only for Ukraine and Europe, and emphasised the United States, China, Russia, and the European Union had to “sit down and talk” about the future of the planet, once again stressing “war is not a solution”.