The Ukrainian leader has called on the US, EU and “everyone in the world” to follow Kiev’s lead
Ukraine has sanctioned the government of another former Soviet republic, Georgia, which Vladimir Zelensky has accused of “surrendering” the country to Russia.
Georgia has been gripped by protests since late October, when the pro-Western opposition refused to recognize the results of a parliamentary election in which the ruling Georgian Dream party achieved a convincing victory.
The rallies turned violent last week after the government announced that it would suspend accession talks with the EU, citing “constant blackmail and manipulation” of Georgian domestic politics by Brussels. There have also been multiple instances of rioters clashing with police in Tbilisi, resulting in several hundred people being detained.
In a video address on Thursday, Zelensky said he had signed a decree to place restrictions on the leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, and 19 other Georgian officials.
“These sanctions target the part of the Georgian government that is surrendering Georgia to Putin. This is the very issue that is fueling the protests in Georgia right now,” the Ukrainian leader claimed.
He also called on the US, EU and “everyone in the world” to follow Kiev’s example and also slap restrictions on Georgia.
“We must not lose anyone in this region – neither Georgia, nor Moldova, nor Ukraine. We must stand united in defending ourselves against Moscow,” Zelensky insisted.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested that Zelensky was acting out of “anger that Georgia found the strength to reject the Ukrainian scenario.”
Earlier this week, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said a Maidan-style coup, similar to the one that deposed democratically elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich in 2014, had “failed” in Georgia.
“There was a coordinated and pre-planned effort involving foreign funding for its execution. This is precisely why some individuals opposed the adoption of the Transparency Law, enabling foreign financing of revolutionary activities in Georgia to remain concealed,” Kobakhidze said.
The legislation in question was adopted by Tbilisi earlier this year despite heated protests from the opposition, which branded it “a Russian law.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said a week ago that he was “quite astonished by... bravery and the character” with which the Georgian leadership had been defending their stance in the wake of street protests and foreign interference. However, he said the Russian authorities “have no relations… none whatsoever” with the government in Tbilisi.
