UNM accuses Georgian government of 'betrayal' over fuel supplies to Abkhazia

The opposition United National Movement has accused the Georgian government of "betraying national interests" over fuel supplies to Russian-controlled Abkhazia, while criticising Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze's comments about anti-Russian sentiment in Georgia.

UNM governing council member Lasha Parulava said the government was treating criticism of Russia as "Russophobia" while, he alleged, helping the authorities in occupied Abkhazia amid a fuel shortage.

"This is not merely collaboration with the enemy; it is a direct betrayal of national interests," Parulava said.

He also accused the Georgian Dream government of being afraid of former president Mikheil Saakashvili and criticised its repeated references to what it calls "Russophobia".

Parulava praised Saakashvili's record in government and during Russia's 2008 military intervention in Georgia, saying he had "saved the country" from Russian aggression.

His comments followed Kobakhidze's statement that fuel had entered Russian-controlled Abkhazia from Georgia-controlled territory through a private business and in accordance with the Law on Occupied Territories.

Parulava questioned the government's reliance on that legislation, describing Kobakhidze's comments as "cynicism, hypocrisy and betrayal of national interests".

He also referred to the 2019 incident involving Russian lawmaker Sergei Gavrilov's appearance in the Georgian parliament, when Kobakhidze was parliamentary speaker. The event triggered mass protests in Tbilisi, which were followed by a police crackdown in which demonstrators suffered serious injuries, including eye injuries.