spot_imgspot_imgspot_imgspot_img
spot_imgspot_img

US Department of State spokesperson: many Georgians, in gov’t, individuals, stand in solidarity with Ukraine

Many Georgians, in the government, as well as ordinary citizens, stand in solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price has stated in response to the questions of Georgia’s Mtavari Arkhi channel.
He stated that Russia is violating the same, general principles in Ukraine, it already violated in Georgia back in 2008.

 

Price also said that “few countries understand to the same extent the potential implications and consequences of the Russian aggression, than a country like Georgia,” recalling the Russia-Georgia war. 

 

Journalist: Got a few questions about Georgia. A couple of recent facts first.  President Zelensky called a Georgian government position immoral regarding the Russian invasion, as well as Georgia’s decision to block the charter flight scheduled to bring the volunteers from Georgia to Ukraine.  Zelensky also recalled the Ukrainian ambassador for this. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili said that  Georgia will not join the sanctions coming from the west against Russia and  called those sanctions ineffective.  Also, the Georgian government finalized a deal with Moscow and now the Georgian dairy products will be exported to Russia. And lastly, Moscow has  published a list  of non-friendly countries and Georgia is not on the list. Bearing in mind that 20% of Georgian territories are still occupied by Russia, what would be your reaction to the silence coming from the Georgian government in light of those facts that I just laid out? 

 

Ned Price: Well, I will say when it comes to Georgia few countries can understand to the same extent the potential implications and consequences of the Russian aggression than a country like Georgia – a country that in 2008 was itself invaded by Russian forces.

 

There are many Georgians who of course still harbor the stark memories of that and I can only imagine there are many Georgians, in the government and private citizens, who are standing in solidarity with their counterparts in Ukraine.  

 

More broadly, I think what we have seen of the past several weeks has been tremendous and, in some ways, an unexpected amount of unity within the international community. I think, perhaps, the best illustration of that is what happened in the UN General assembly just last week, 141 countries spanning the globe came together to condemn this unprovoked, premeditated, unjustified war against Ukraine and to call for it to come to a close. 

 

A 141 may just be a number, but this is a collection of countries that the UN system sees only rarely.  In 2014 when Russia invaded Ukraine, 100 countries signed on to the resolution in the UN general assembly condemning that act. 

 

In 2016 when Russian forces were bombarding the Syrian town of Aleppo, 122 countries signed on to the condemnation of that action. The fact that 141 countries across the globe have spoken to this, speaks to the fact that we are working, and we are speaking with one voice.  To the effectiveness of the sanctions, I think it is hard to argue with their effectiveness. And you can look at any number of metrics regarding the toll that they have taken on the Russian economy. Spoken to the fact that the ruble is now worth less, literally worth less than a penny, the flight of the international companies from Moscow, the fact that the Russian central bank has doubled its interest rates,  something that would be unsustainable over the longer term, the fact that inflation is rising as the result, the fact that the Russian stock market has remained close for days  now, presumably as the means to prevent  capital flight.  There are any number of additional metrics we can talk to in terms of the effectiveness of the sanctions, but I think that cannot be argued that these measures lack teeth, that they lack strength.  And I think that you can see in terms of the Russian economy, the strengths that they carry. 

 

Journalist: Very lastly, do the fact itself that Zelensky is recalling the ambassador from Tbilisi, and the fact that the PM of Georgia is calling those sanctions ineffective, do you think that this is a concerning signal coming from Georgia, the country that is still occupied by Russia?

 

Ned Price: we are calling on all countries to stand up, for not only the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the independence of Ukraine, really what is that the center of the conflict, but to stand up for the broader principles that are at the heart of the rules-based order, that have under guarded 70 some years of unprecedented levels of stability, security, prosperity, the world over.  

 

The same principle that Russia violated in 2008, when Russian forces invaded Georgia, is the same principle that Vladimir Putin is violating today.  The idea that the borders should be inviolable, that big states, big countries, big nations, cannot bully small countries, small nations, the idea that the might does not equate to the right.  All these things are at stake, so that’s why whether in Europe, weather in the Indo Pacific, anywhere in between, we have called upon the countries the world over, to stand with Ukraine and to stand for its broader principles.

spot_imgspot_img
spot_imgspot_img

NEWS

Similar news