Ruling party MP criticises retired US General’s “insulting” statement on Georgian Gov’t position on Ukraine
Mikanadze said the statement was “directed against our country” and called it “out of touch”. Photo: Parliament of Georgia
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Givi Mikanadze, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday criticised Ben Hodges, the former Commander of the United States Armed Forces in Europe, for an “insulting” statement on the position of the Georgian Government on Ukraine, and said the comments were “harmful” to the reputation of Georgia.
The response followed a comment by Hodges, who on Tuesday said “I don't understand why the Georgian government has handcuffed itself to a corpse, which is the Kremlin”, in reference to positions taken by the Government on the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine.
Mikanadze said the statement was “directed against our country” and called it “out of touch”.
“The statement made by Ben Hodges is insulting to the state and our public, it is completely out of touch with reality. It directly reads the narrative of the [opposition] United National Movement [party]”, the lawmaker said.
In reality, we realise that this person's goals are completely different, and with his own statements, he is trying to make a small contribution to the damaging campaign that has been waged against Georgia for several months in order to open a second front in this country and involve Georgia in hostilities [in Ukraine]”, Mikanadze said.
In his comments, the Georgian MP also said the retired General was involved in the “lobbying activities” pursued for the alleged campaign.
People's Power, a public movement established by former ruling Georgian Dream party MPs who exited the team in June, on Wednesday called on the United States’ Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan to deny or confirm Ukrainian diplomat Andriy Kasyanov’s claims on an arms exchange request between his country, the US and Georgia.
The Georgian Defence Ministry on Tuesday rejected claims in domestic media that said a Buk surface-to-air missile system had been handed over by Ukraine to the country “free of charge” in 2008, following an article by Ukraine’s charge d’affaires who said his Government had asked their Georgian counterparts to hand the system back to aid Ukraine’s efforts in its ongoing conflict with Russia.
Gia Tsagareishvili, an MP of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday accused Andriy Kasyanov, the charge d'affaires of Ukraine to Georgia, of making “provocative statements” over Tbilisi’s refusal to provide arms for Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.
Givi Mikanadze, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday called a comment by Andriy Kasyanov, a representative of the Ukrainian Embassy to Georgia, on Ukraine’s request of a missile system delivery from Georgia “another attempt to drag Georgia into the war” in the country.
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”.
Kelly Degnan, the United States Ambassador to Georgia, on Monday said Georgia had “done many things” in support of Ukraine in the ongoing Russian invasion of the country, particularly noting the humanitarian dimension of the assistance provided by Georgian authorities.