“The difficult situation of the Ukrainian authorities”. The Prime Minister of Georgia reacted to Ukraineʼs sanctions against Georgian politicians

Prime Minister of Georgia Iraklii Kobakhidze reacted to the fact that Ukraine introduced sanctions against him and some other Georgian officials who are responsible for the countryʼs pro-Russian course and the dispersal of pro-European protesters. According to the Prime Minister of Georgia, such a step by Ukraine shows "the difficult situation of the Ukrainian authorities".

Iraklii Kobakhidze said this at a press conference, Georgian media reports.

He emphasized that the Ukrainian authorities were not independent in their decision to impose sanctions against Georgian officials. Iraklii Kobakhidze said that "some" are trying to make the situation as difficult as possible for the new administration in the USA regarding the Georgian region. Deterioration of relations between the authorities of Ukraine and Georgia is one of the parts of this plan.

According to Kobakhidze, the government of Georgia remains "in the mode of one-sided friendship with Ukraine", because Georgia "loves a friendly country and the Ukrainian people".

"Whatever decision the Ukrainian authorities take, we remain loyal to this country and its people. We are in solidarity with this country and these people," Kobakhidze said.

At the same time, the President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili thanked Ukraine for its decision to impose sanctions against the countryʼs leaders.

What preceded

Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia in October. According to the Central Election Commission, the pro-ruling pro-Russian party "Georgian Dream — Democratic Georgia" won with 53.9% of the vote. According to Georgian laws, this party gets the right to single-handedly form the government. The European Parliament did not recognize the election results.

Four more pro-Western opposition parties broke the 5% barrier. The opposition and the president did not agree with the results, protests began.

On November 28, 2024, the Prime Minister of Georgia Iraklii Kobakhidze declared that Georgia was abandoning negotiations on joining the EU until 2028. He explained that 2028 will supposedly be the time when Georgia will be economically ready to start accession negotiations. After that, large-scale protests began in the country, which were dispersed by security forces.

Presidential elections in Georgia are scheduled for December 14, and the inauguration of the new head of state — for December 29. However, Salome Zurabishvili stated that the new parliament is illegitimate and will not be able to elect a new president, so her mandate will continue until a new president is elected by the new parliament.

The Prime Minister of Georgia insists on presidential elections and says that it is the "will of the majority of the Georgian people" that will fill all the constitutional bodies. Yes, they want to approve the football veteran and currently MP Mykhailo Kavelashvili as president.

• In early December, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia jointly imposed sanctions against representatives of the ruling party and high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. The head of the Estonian Foreign Ministry, Margus Tsahkna, stressed that the Baltic countries do not welcome "opponents of democracy" and "violators of human rights".

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