Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said that the Ukrainian authorities did not invite her to Kyiv on February 24, despite her desire to be present in the Ukrainian capital on the anniversary of the outbreak of the armed conflict with Russia.
“The President of Georgia, of course, was supposed to be in Kyiv today, and I expressed my readiness for this in a timely manner. Unfortunately, I didn’t receive an invitation. But the parliament, despite the invitation, did not consider it necessary to send an official delegation,” said Ms. Zurabishvili during an event dedicated to the anniversary of the entry of Russian troops into Ukraine (quoted by TASS).
On February 21, one of the leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream (GM) party, Irakli Zarkua, announced that the parliamentary and government delegations of Georgia would not participate in the events in Kiev on the occasion of the anniversary of the outbreak of hostilities on February 24, 2022, despite the invitation received. The reason for this decision, the politician called the fact that the Ukrainian authorities “urge Georgia to open a second front against Russia” and “called a political prisoner (the former Georgian president.— “uh”) Mikheil Saakashvili,” who, according to Mr. Zarkua, “committed many crimes.”
Georgia refused to impose sanctions against Russia after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili explained this decision with national interests. In March last year, Mr. Garibashvili banned the departure of Georgian volunteers to Kyiv on a charter flight. After that, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recalled the Ukrainian ambassador from Tbilisi. According to unofficial data, about 2,000 Georgian volunteers are fighting on the side of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Relations between Georgia and Ukraine are also complicated because of Kiev’s position on Mikheil Saakashvili, who was sentenced by a Tbilisi court to six years in prison on charges of organizing the beating of deputy and businessman Valery Gelashvili by special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2005. Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Georgian authorities of trying to kill the former president, who has been treated for various diseases since May last year at the Vivamedi clinic in Tbilisi. Earlier, a court in Tbilisi refused to transfer Mikheil Saakashvili to a European clinic for treatment. According to doctors, Mr. Saakashvili suffers from mental and endocrinological diseases. Since his arrest on October 1, 2021, he has lost almost half of his weight, going from 127 kg to 69 kg.
At the same time, Georgia joined the resolution of the UN General Assembly calling on Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine. The document was published yesterday, February 23. Speaking at a special session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Georgian Foreign Minister Ilya Darchiashvili said that his country “completely joins international organizations” and “supports the Ukrainian people”, as well as the “peace formula” that Ukrainian President Volodymyr had previously laid out Zelensky.
About what is happening on the anniversary of the entry of Russian troops into Ukraine – in the online broadcast “Kommersant”.
