Georgian PM says Ukraine recalling Chargé d'Affaires related to “household item purchase”

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday claimed the recall of the Ukrainian Chargé d'Affaires from the country on Sunday was related to his “purchase of a household item” in violation of regulations of wartime conditions.

Kobakhidze’s comments came after the newly appointed Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Sunday decided to recall Mykhailo Kharyshyn from Georgia.

The Ukrainian media reported Kharyshyn had raised the issue of replacing washing machines at the Embassy.

Unlike the recall of the [Ukrainian] Ambassador [in 2022], this is not a political act - it is related to the purchase of a household item by a representative of a specific embassy, ​​which, according to the Ukrainian authorities, he should not have purchased in wartime conditions”, Kobakhidze said.

“[In 2022] it was a purely political decision. Then the authorities of Ukraine, because we did not join the sanctions [on Russia] and did not send combat volunteers to Ukraine with the official approval of the Government, recalled the Ambassador from Georgia. It was a political act. In this case, according to our information, it is not a political act”, the PM noted.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2022 signed a decree recalling the Ambassador, citing his failure to obtain imposition of sanctions of Russia or supply of weapons to Ukraine amid the war as the cause for the move.