Parliament Committee Chair: Ukrainian diplomat’s “shocking” statement on arms provision instructed by his Government
Georgia is a supporter of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, condemning Russian aggression, Kadagishvili said, adding the appeals for Georgia to provide Ukraine with weapons were “manipulations”, confirming that the Ukrainian authorities were interested in Georgia to appear as a “party” in the ongoing hostilities. Photo via Parliament of Georgia
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Irakli Kadagishvili, the Chair of the Rules and Procedural Issues Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, on Tuesday said the charge d'affaires of Ukraine to Georgia, Andriy Kasyanov’s “shocking” statement on Tbilisi’s refusal to provide arms for Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia had been instructed by Ukrainian Government, as the diplomat would not make such statements “independently”.
Kadagishvili’s comments followed the article by Kasyanov [on Monday], in which he said the Ukrainian authorities had asked Tbilisi to hand over the Buk missile system back, sent from Ukraine to Georgia during the latter’s 2008 war with Russia, as an aid for its ongoing conflict with Russia.
The diplomat said the Ukrainian government had also requested Javelin anti-tank systems purchased for Georgian Defence Forces from the United States over the recent years and claimed the move had been agreed upon with Washington, which in turn would provide newer systems to Georgia after the handover. The charge d’affaires added the Georgian Government had “strongly rejected” the requests.
In response to the article, Kadagishvili said Georgia had not received the Buk surface-to-air missile system free of charge, the country had purchased the system before the 2008 war, and noted the Javelin anti-tank systems had also been “officially” purchased from the US, with the latter’s “permission”, adding Georgia had paid “several tens of million” from the state budget for the system.
Georgia has Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions and thus the country has “different responsibilities”, compared to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member states. “Neither NATO nor anyone will protect us [Georgia], if something happens here, there is no one to defend us, except ourselves”, the Committee Chair emphasised.
Georgia is a supporter of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, condemning Russian aggression, Kadagishvili said, adding the appeals for Georgia to provide Ukraine with weapons were “manipulations”, confirming that the Ukrainian authorities were interested in Georgia to appear as a “party” in the ongoing hostilities.