28 Mar, 2022
As you know, several days ago, yet another visit of the War Party – the National Movement – took place in Ukraine. As it emerged, the visit was “successful” because upon its completion, senior Ukrainian officials began to speak openly about the prudence of opening a second front in Georgia and bringing the war taking place in Ukraine to Georgia. The statement by Ukrainian Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov was the clearest example of this.
We have repeatedly provided the public with information concerning the fact that the main goal of all provocations staged by the National Movement was to involve Georgia in the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine and to open a second front in Georgia.
The constant calls for economic sanctions against Russia have served and continue to serve precisely this purpose; the grave provocation in the form of the attempt to send a plane full of volunteer fighters to Ukraine with the permission of the Government of Georgia served the same purpose, as did the discriminatory propaganda against ethnic Russian citizens, calls for the government to purchase weapons (you all remember, for example, Giorgi Margvelashvili’s statements in this regard), the speculative raising of the topic of military status, calls for the use of harsh rhetoric by the authorities, and so on. The recall of the Ukrainian ambassador from Georgia was also an act of political pressure organized by the War Party that aimed to incite public unrest and change the policy of the authorities of Georgia. The public is aware that the authorities of Georgia gave an appropriate response to all these provocations by the War Party and did not allow the situation in the country to escalate.
Direct or indirect talks by the War Party about the so-called window of opportunity and calls for the restoration of territorial integrity through war also serve the purpose of moving the military conflict to Georgia. We would like to emphasize with regard to the aforementioned that the authorities of Georgia remain committed to the policy of peaceful de-occupation and will resist all provocations aimed at escalating a new military confrontation with our Abkhazian and Ossetian brothers and sisters. We all understand that any war in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali will be a war not only between Georgians and the Russian occupation forces – it will also be a war between Georgians and Abkhazians, Georgians and Ossetians. A new fratricidal war will be the greatest, unforgivable crime in the history of our country, and we will not permit this to happen.
If the current grave situation creates any window of opportunity in this regard, it will be an opportunity to extend a helping hand to the people living in the occupied territories to deal with the aggravated social problems.
We reiterate that the authorities of Georgia will act in accordance with the state interests of Georgia, will respond appropriately to all provocations by the War Party, and will not allow Georgia to be dragged into a military conflict.
This is our responsibility before our country and our people.