Kadyrov threatens ‘there is only 200 km from Grozny to Tbilisi’
By Tea Mariamidze
Monday, June 24
Ramzan Kadyrov, who is the Head of the Chechen Republic, has commented on the recent developments in Tbilisi, reminding the authorities and the locals that Tbilisi is 200 kilometers away from Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, a Federal Subject of Russia.
Kadyrov particularly criticized Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, after she said that Russia is interested in destabilization in Georgia.
“Our common future lies in our unity, reconciliation, and our European path. That is how we will confront Russia and respond to the occupation,” she said after the protest rally of thousands of Georgians, in the center of Tbilisi, was dispersed by the police.
Georgian President also held a meeting with ambassadors and diplomats accredited in Georgia regarding the recent events developed in the country.
The meeting held at the presidential palace was attended by Ambassadors of Estonia, Lithuania, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, and the US, as well as the Head of the EU Delegation.
As the President noted at the meeting with ambassadors, she is ready to cooperate with all political forces to achieve public consent and reduce polarization in the country.
Zurabishvili underlined that Georgia is a stable country in the region and it is easy to guess who is interested in destabilizing the situation here.
The protests were sparked after a Russian State Duma delegation arrived in Tbilisi to participate in the 26th session of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO).
On Thursday morning, IAO President Sergey Gavrilov opened the session in the Georgian parliament. Opposition lawmakers were outraged by the fact that Gavrilov addressed the event’s participants from the parliament speaker’s seat. In protest, they did not allow the IAO session to continue. Later, a decision was taken to wrap up the session and for the Russian delegation to leave the country.
Kadyrov said that Georgia, without due respect, reacted to the Russian parliamentary delegation.
“The Georgian authorities did not provide security and the possibility of normal work for the State Duma deputies. The forces warmed up by the West organized turmoil in Tbilisi,” he noted.
The leader of Chechnya also said Zurabishvili “did not find anything better than to blame Russia for everything, arguing that Moscow is interested in splitting Georgia.”
Kadyrov said he was outraged that Georgian President made her speech before the ambassadors of western countries. In his opinion, the President is “deeply mistaken.”
“Russian state is more interested in the fact that peace, unity and harmony reign in Georgia,” he said, adding “Russians and Georgians have thousands of reasons for peaceful coexistence and no reason for hate.”
“I would like to remind you that Tbilisi is 200 kilometers from Grozny. Almost a million Georgians live in Russia, according to unofficial data,” he underlined.
Later on, in his Telegram channel, Kadyrov pointed out that last year the Russian tourists spent $3.5 billion in Georgia.
“What have the anti-Russian radicals achieved? Georgia will feel this when hotels, restaurants, cafes, beaches are deserted,” he said, commenting on the decree of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, who bans direct flights from Russia to Georgia from July 8, 2019.
