Georgian PM says ex-President Zourabichvili has called on Gov’t to open “second front” in country amid war in Ukraine

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday claimed the former Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili had directly called on the Government to join the ongoing war in Ukraine.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Kobakhidze stressed that Zourabichvili was acting as an “agent of the deep state”.

“We had only one meeting with Salome Zourabichvili about the war in Ukraine, which took place on the second or third day after the war began. She asked me and [the Georgian Parliament Speaker] Shalva Papuashvili to [hold] a meeting. There, she started talking about the war with the words: “What do you want?” These were the first words, without greeting. She said that Zelenskyy was a hero, and that we should be like him. It was a direct call to take the same action as the Ukrainian government at the time, to become heroes, and to open a second front”, the PM said.

The Prime Minister explained that, in his response, he disagreed with Zourabichvili's approach, emphasising that heroism in this context could be perceived differently.

“I replied that I thought differently. She partially agreed with me. I told her that a specific Government might be a hero in perception, but the facts might be different. She replied that perceptions were the main thing in modern politics. I said that for the thousands of Ukrainians who died and their families, the facts are what matter, not perceptions”, he continued.

Kobakhidze further clarified that the meeting escalated into direct calls for sanctions, which led to the cessation of communication with Zourabichvili.

“When we realised that talking to her was fruitless, all communication stopped. From a certain point, there was no communication anymore, and all boundaries, including the boundary of adequacy, were crossed. She was acting as a deep state agent, though her inability to perceive things adequately also played a role”, the PM concluded.