PM Garibashvili: the “only thing” Ukrainians “not happy about” Tbilisi’s refusal to involve in war

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Sunday claimed the “only thing” Ukrainians were not “happy about” was his Government’s refusal to get involved in its ongoing conflict with Russia. 

Speaking for Imedi TV, Garibashvili stressed “in terms of the volume of humanitarian aid, we are leading in the whole world; we joined every resolution, and we supported them and stood by them to the end in every way; we opened Ukrainian-language schools for Ukrainians; and we, our small country, did everything we could with all our hearts”. 

“We did not engage in the war. We did not engage in the war, and this is the main reason. Let me remind you what their expectations were”, he said, 

He said the beginning of a war in Ukraine was expected as early as November or December the latest in 2022 and the Georgian authorities “had information about that, and I, among others, knew from our colleague and partners when [former president Mikheil Saakashvili would enter Georgia, on October 1]. 

“Saakashvili was dispatched in an organized manner. The main goal was to instigate a coup here and, at the right moment, engage the country in the war. Today, we have no doubt about that as we are monitoring and analyzing the fact that unfolded subsequently. My response to your question is simple, whether we did not make them see our support. For example, in terms of the volume of humanitarian aid, we are leading in the whole world; we joined every resolution, and we supported them and stood by them to the end in every way; we opened Ukrainian-language schools for Ukrainians; and we, our small country, did everything we could with all our hearts. The only thing they are not happy about is that we did not engage in the war”, Garibashvili said. 

He stressed that if Saakashvili were in power, noting “these are Arestovich’s words”, the country would have been at war today. 

“This is the only explanation of their irritation, their dissatisfaction. There is no other explanation. But I also want to say that, despite everything, I understand that everyone has their own interests, and it might have been a relief for Ukraine if Russia diverted some of its attention to us. If we had a fascist organization, the National Movement—or others like anarchists—in power here, of course it would have been interesting for them, and Russia’s attention would have been diverted, but our country would have turned into a war zone, and we would have ended up with another Mariupol, we would have ended up with a second front here”, Garibashvili noted. 

Speaking about the transparency bill that was rejected by the parliament last week, the PM said “the ruling force and the parliament clearly explained that we endorsed this bill, but we sent it to the Venice Commission—to Europe, in other words—and we are expecting their response. Still, they exhibited rashness. And it is very good that they showed rashness, because otherwise things would not have unfolded the way they did. They thought that something would happen here. But nothing happened, and nothing will happen. Everything is under control, and everything is doubly secured, better than they can imagine,” the Head of Government said.