Georgian Parliament Speaker welcomes appointment of new Ukrainian Ambassador, questions shift in Kyiv's stance

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday addressed the media regarding President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent decision to appoint a new Ukrainian Ambassador to Georgia. While describing the move as “welcome”, the Speaker raised questions about the underlying reasons for the diplomatic shift.

“The President of Ukraine has appointed an Ambassador to Georgia, which, on one hand, is a welcome development in itself, but on the other hand raises the question - what has actually changed?! Georgia has not altered its own policy. Just as we said four years ago that we would not impose bilateral sanctions [on Russia], we say the same now - we will not impose them; just as we said four years ago that we would not send Georgians to fight in the war, we still do not intend to do so. These were the two reasons President Zelenskyy cited at the time for recalling the[Ukrainian] Ambassador from Georgia. Our position on both issues remains the same”, the Speaker said.

“Hopefully, the fact that an Ambassador has been appointed shows that the Ukrainian authorities have realised that the hostile rhetoric directed against Georgians and the anti-Georgian decisions taken previously were not productive, and therefore the appointment of an Ambassador is important”, Papuashvili concluded.