Georgian PM accuses opposition of supporting attempts to drag Georgia into war

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Thursday said there had been a direct attempt to involve Georgia in the war and open a second front in the country, with the opposition’s support and actions creating the domestic conditions for such an effort.

Kobakhidze’s remarks came after Levan Machavariani addressed the opposition, NGOs and activists in a social media post, accusing them of attempting to create a perception that Georgia had not supported Ukraine.

Speaking to journalists, Kobakhidze said that in the first days following the outbreak of the war, the opposition had organised what he described as “absolutely incomprehensible” protests against the Georgian authorities in the context of the conflict.

“All of this was treacherous behaviour. They joined calls for imposing sanctions and sending volunteer fighters, and welcomed decisions by foreign countries that ran counter to the principled and patriotic position of the Georgian government. Through all of this, their true intentions were exposed”, he said.

“You know that there was a direct attempt to involve the country in the war and open a second front in Georgia, and the opposition’s support and actions were creating the basis for this inside the country. Fortunately, their efforts were unsuccessful, but they spared no effort to somehow drag the country into the conflict and the war. It was solely the principled position of the government and, most importantly, the Georgian people that preserved peace in our country and gave it the opportunity for dignified development. I absolutely agree with Levan Machavariani’s sentiment and the substance of his message”, Kobakhidze continued.

He stressed that all of the opposition’s actions related to the war had been “treacherous.”

“We have repeatedly raised the question of what Georgia was not doing in relation to Ukraine that it should have been doing, and we never received any answer. It became clear from this that all of their actions were entirely speculative, dictated by external interests, and served not the interests of the country, but rather the harming of the country’s interests”, Kobakhidze concluded.