Salome Zourabichvili, the fifth president of Georgia, has commented on the meeting between the Georgian Prime Minister and the President of Ukraine in Yerevan. She urged the public not to overstate the importance of the handshake between the two leaders.
She pointed out that the actual substance of the meeting between Irakli Kobakhidze and Volodymyr Zelenskyy is far more interesting than a protocol handshake and “a few words,” which, in her view, carry no real weight.
Zourabichvili wrote that if Georgia had not turned away from its constitutionally mandated course toward European integration, the conference would have been held in Tbilisi.
“If this means that against the backdrop of Russia’s weakening—similar to Hungary’s shifting stance—Georgia also has to reconsider its position regarding Ukraine, I would hope so!
In general, it is worth noting that if Georgia had not abandoned its role as a reliable partner for Europe and the West in the region two years ago, many leaders would have stopped over in Tbilisi for at least a few hours on their way to or from Yerevan.
Furthermore, if we had not turned away from the course toward European integration enshrined in the Constitution, this important Pan-European conference would have taken place in Tbilisi itself.
The very fact that the regime is forced to try to appeal to its few remaining voters using footage with European and Ukrainian leaders—whom it criticizes daily—speaks louder than any commentary!” Zourabichvili wrote.
President of Ukraine: Conversation with Georgian PM is a “Right Step”
It should be added that Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the 8th European Political Community (EPC) summit. According to the Georgian Government Administration, the meeting was held at the initiative of the Ukrainian side.
Kobakhidze noted that it was a meeting in a closed format, and overall, he could say that a friendly and interesting conversation took place.
Prior to the brief dialogue with the Georgian PM on the sidelines of the political event, the Ukrainian leader shook hands with Irakli Kobakhidze during the group photo of the summit participants in Yerevan.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking about the meeting with the Georgian Prime Minister, stated that unresolved issues remain between Kyiv and Tbilisi, but he emphasized the importance of maintaining dialogue at all levels and expressed the intention to continue cooperation in the future.
The Ukrainian leader also added that this was the first face-to-face conversation with the Georgian Prime Minister in a long time. He emphasized that he considers it a right step.
It is noted that the dialogue between the two leaders took place against the backdrop of an ongoing chilling of relations between Tbilisi and Kyiv. In recent years, Georgian authorities have repeatedly claimed that certain representatives of the Ukrainian leadership allegedly called on Georgia to open a “second front” against Russia. Tbilisi asserts that such calls created political pressure and placed the country under the threat of being drawn into the war.
The Georgian authorities claim that Brussels, Ukraine, and—at their instigation—the Georgian opposition demanded that Tbilisi open a “second front.”
Such signals from Kyiv are unacceptable and contradict Georgia’s security interests, according to those in Georgian Dream (the ruling party). The Ukrainian side, in turn, categorically rejects accusations of attempting to drag Georgia into the military conflict and insists that no such official demands were ever made.
As a reminder, on May 24, 2022, then-Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili stated that “Ukrainian friends” wished to see a second front in Georgia to weaken Russia.
Garibashvili was referring to statements by Ukrainian officials, specifically the now-former Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, who on August 8, 2022, said that Georgia, having lost Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and Moldova, having lost Transnistria, should follow Ukraine’s example to “tear Russia apart.”
According to the then-head of the NSDC, countries affected by Russian aggression could join Ukraine to hasten victory. However, he suggested that fear prevented them from doing so.
This statement by Oleksiy Danilov was not his first. Earlier, in March, he said that the opening of other fronts against Russia would greatly help Kyiv—specifically, if Georgia and Moldova focused on reclaiming their lands occupied by Moscow.
In Tbilisi, Danilov and other Kyiv officials were harshly criticized for such remarks.
The Georgian authorities insist that the country’s territorial integrity will be restored exclusively through peaceful measures, and they also claim that certain forces—implying the West as well—are attempting to drag Georgia into a war with Russia.
However, opponents of the government, the fifth president of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili, and representatives of the EU and the US—including the former Joe Biden administration—have repeatedly stated that “no one wants” to open a second front in Georgia.
