Georgian Prime Minister warns against participation in schemes funded by foreign special services

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday issued a stern yet “friendly” warning to citizens, urging them to refrain from joining violent protests or schemes allegedly financed by foreign special services and directed against Georgia’s national interests.

Kobakhidze’s comments came in response to a journalist’s question regarding the alleged funding mechanisms behind protests and the organisation of youth training linked to a university associated with Giuli Alasania, the mother of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili.

“We have not spoken openly about this before, but now we can boldly and openly discuss everything related to it. It is not surprising that such plans are being carried out at this university, which was once appropriated for ₾1”, Kobakhidze said.

“You may recall that a member of the former President’s family appropriated the university for ₾1, which was, by its nature and essence, a criminal act. We are not surprised that this is happening at this university. This is a project organised by foreign special services, and it is not destined for success”, he noted.

The Prime Minister also underlined that those who had engaged in violent acts during earlier protests faced prison sentences of two years or more, warning that similar actions would bring the same consequences.

“We must warn everyone to avoid participating in such plans. In particular, everyone must avoid participating in violent actions. When specific individuals participated in violent actions during previous protests, they were sentenced to two years or more of imprisonment”, he said.

“Therefore, we must once again give a friendly warning to everyone to refrain from participating in violent actions and in schemes funded by foreign special services against our state and our country’s national interests. You have seen what such schemes by foreign special services have done to our friendly country, Ukraine, which today has completely collapsed as a state”, the PM concluded.