Irakli Kobakhidze: The Government will resist any provocation aimed at escalating a new military confrontation with our Abkhaz and Ossetian brothers and sisters

The Georgian Government remains committed to the policy of peaceful de-occupation and will resist any provocation aimed at escalating a new military confrontation with our Abkhaz and Ossetian brothers and sisters. We will not allow Georgia to be involved in the military conflict, Irakli Kobakhidze, Chairman of the Georgian Dream party, said at the briefing at the party's office.

According to him, the top officials of the Ukrainian Government started talking about the expediency of opening a second front in Georgia and bringing the ongoing war in Ukraine to Georgia after another visit of the “war party” - National Movement to Ukraine.

"As you know, another visit of the “war party” - National Movement to Ukraine took place a few days ago. As it turned out, the visit was "successful" because upon its completion, senior Ukrainian officials began to speak openly about the need to open a second front in Georgia and bring the ongoing war in Ukraine to Georgia. The statement by the Secretary of the Security Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, was the clearest example of this.

We have repeatedly shared information with the public that the main goal of all provocations organized by the National Movement was to involve Georgia in the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine and to open the second front in Georgia.

The constant calls for economic sanctions against Russia have served and continue to serve this purpose; The gravest provocative attempt to send a plane full of volunteer fighters to Ukraine with the permission of the Georgian Government served the same purpose; Discriminatory propaganda against Russian citizens; Calls for the Government to purchase weapons (you all remember, for example, Giorgi Margvelashvili's statements in this regard); Speculative discussion of the topic of military status, calls for harsh rhetoric by the authorities served the same purpose. The recall of the Ambassador of Ukraine from Georgia was also an act of political pressure organized by the "war party", which aimed to provoke public unrest and change the policy of the Georgian Government. The Georgian Government responded to all these provocations properly and did not allow the situation to escalate in the country," Kobakhidze said.

According to him, the direct or indirect statements of the "war party" about the window of opportunities and calls for the restoration of territorial integrity through war also serve the purpose of escalating a military conflict in Georgia.

"In this regard, we want to emphasize that the Georgian Government remains committed to the policy of peaceful de-occupation and will resist all provocations aimed at escalating a new military confrontation with our Abkhaz and Ossetian brothers and sisters. We all understand that any war in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali will not be a war only between Georgians and the Russian occupation forces, but also a war between Georgians and Abkhazians, Georgians and Ossetians. A new fratricidal war will be the greatest, unforgivable crime in the history of our country that we will not allow.

If the current difficult situation creates any window of opportunity, it is an opportunity to offer assistance to people living in the occupied territories to solve their social problems.

We reiterate that the Georgian Government will act in accordance with the state interests of Georgia, respond appropriately to all provocations of the "war party" and will not allow Georgia to be involved in a military conflict. This is our responsibility to our country and our population," Kobakhidze said.