Ukraine’s foreign ministry responds to claims of ‘interference in Georgia’s affairs’ by PM

Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Oleh Nikolenko, called the statements of the Georgian officials “unfriendly” in his post on Facebook on March 13.

“Almost verbatim repeating the theses of Russian propaganda, representatives of the Georgian authorities accused Ukraine of preparing a coup d’état in Georgia, drawing it into a war with Russia, directing forces to incite a civil war,” Nikolenko wrote.

“We categorically reject such insinuations, which have nothing to do with reality. The Georgian authorities are looking for the enemy in the wrong place,” Nikolenko added.

Read also: Amid protests over ‘Russian’ law in Georgia, will Putin be tempted to intervene?

Read also: Russia’s war on Ukraine ‘a consequence of Maidan’ claims Georgia’s ruling party head

He said he was convinced that the statements of Georgian politicians would not be able to undermine the strong friendship between the Ukrainian and Georgian peoples.

“We highly appreciate the support of Georgians when Ukrainians are fighting for their independence. For its part, Ukraine has been and will remain a friend of the Georgian people, whom we wish not to stop towards the development of the European future,” Nikolenko said.

Tens of thousands of Georgian citizens have been protesting for several days since March 7 due to the fact that the country’s parliament supported a draft law on foreign agents at first reading, a copycat law of one previously adopted in the Russian Federation.

Security forces used tear gas and water cannons against rally participants, more than a hundred people were detained. Later, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia announced the release of all protesters detained administratively on March 7-8. One person remained in custody under the article of the Criminal Code.

Meanwhile, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili expressed her support for the protesters.

On March 9, opposition politicians during a protest in Tbilisi called for the resignation of the government and early elections.

The next day, the Georgian parliament voted against the draft law on foreign agents at second reading.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the participants of the protests, noting that there is no Ukrainian who does not wish Georgia success, as well as a democratic and European future.

Read also: More than 100,000 bank accounts opened by Russians in Georgia since September ‘partial mobilization’

Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, stated that the return of the sovereign territories of Moldova and Georgia is a necessary basis for guarantees of sustainable peace.

On March 12, Garibashvili said that he considers Ukrainian politicians’ calls for changes in his country to be interference in state affairs.

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