Georgia’s ruling party official accuses key actors of hypocrisy over Russia talks

Levan Machavariani, the First Deputy Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party faction in the legislative body, on Thursday criticised Western politicians’ shift in position on dialogue with Russia as irresponsible, stating that for the past four years, these actors encouraged Ukraine and prohibited resolving the conflict through diplomatic channels.

In his remarks, Machavariani noted that this only highlighted their irresponsible actions and policies.

He further stressed that these actors had encouraged Ukraine, promising that with their support, Ukraine would definitely win.

“They assured Ukraine of expedited NATO and EU membership and promised frozen Russian assets would be transferred to Ukraine. Today, all of this has proven false. Ukraine was abandoned, acted against irresponsibly, and who takes responsibility for keeping the country in this situation for four years? Tens of millions of Ukrainians have been displaced, nearly one million killed, and infrastructure completely destroyed. How many years will it take for those living in this nightmare to recover psychologically?” the official said.

“This is the situation Ukraine has been brought to, and now these actors irresponsibly claim that dialogue with Russia was necessary - when for four years they forbade anyone from engaging Russia or pursuing diplomatic solutions to the conflict”, Machavariani concluded.

The West is now shifting its rhetoric, discussing the need for dialogue with Russia.

Recently, the Prime Minister of Latvia and the President of Estonia urged Europe to appoint a special representative to reestablish communication with the Kremlin.

They emphasised that any communication with Russia should be conducted in consultation with Ukraine.