Kobakhidze Responds to Antony Blinken's Statement and Ukraine's Sanctions on GD Officials
By Liza Mchedlidze
Friday, December 6, 2024
Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze responded to a statement by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who announced that the United States is preparing to take additional measures regarding the ongoing events in Georgia, including sanctions. Kobakhidze said the current U.S. administration is "trying to leave the new administration in as difficult a situation as possible," and that Blinken's statement is part of this effort.
"One thing is that this statement is completely false. We are talking about peaceful protesters, and when you see how peaceful the rallies organized in Georgia were, such a falsehood from the head of the State Department is certainly extremely disturbing. I very much hope that after January 20 [Trump's inauguration], we will not encounter such falsehoods in any American statement. Of course, this announcement is also a continuation of this process."
The current administration is trying to leave the worst possible situation in the entire region for the new administration. This applies to Ukraine, Georgia, and this statement is, naturally, a continuation of all of this," said Kobakhidze.
Kobakhidze also addressed Ukraine's imposition of sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili and 18 other individuals, stating that this reflects the difficult situation within Ukraine itself.
The Prime Minister of Georgian Dream claimed that there are two reasons for the sanctions: "Georgia did not impose sanctions on Russia and did not send volunteer fighters to Ukraine."
Kobakhidze spoke about "two fronts".
"From here, it became apparent what the actual intention was. There was a plan for not one front, but two fronts. Of course, this decision taken by the Ukrainian authorities at the time was a continuation of that plan."
He also mentioned the expulsion of Georgia's ambassador from Ukraine, a man who had remained in Kyiv since the start of the war. "Expelled - why? Because Russia was 'killing Saakashvili by torture in Georgia with our hands'," Kobakhidze said.
"Today, the situation of the Ukrainian government is even more difficult, and the probable decision we are talking about is an echo of this difficult situation," he added.
Kobakhidze also addressed the arrests of opposition leaders, stating, "The main source of violence was the party offices, and as soon as we entered the party offices and removed the relevant weapons of violence, the violence immediately ended."
"Yesterday, you saw that violent party groups no longer had the resources for violence. As soon as the source of the violence was removed, the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not need to react immediately."
