Georgian parliament cites crisis in dialogue with Ukraine in response to invitation to Bucha

Saturday, 9 April 2022, 17:10

SATURDAY, 9 APRIL 2022, 17:10

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has responded sharply and publicly to the invitation of his Ukrainian counterpart Ruslan Stefanchuk to visit Bucha together with other world parliamentary leaders.

The politician posted his official response, including accusations against Kyiv, on Facebook.

Ruslan Stefanchuk has been inviting the heads of parliaments of all countries to see with their own eyes the consequences of atrocities committed by the Russian army in the areas they occupied. Papuashvili was the first to respond with a public refusal. He did, however, offer his condolences to Ukrainians.

"You have invited me to see the brutality of the Russian aggression. It is impossible to describe your feelings when you see the atrocities in Bucha and other cities in Ukraine. And we are unfortunately familiar with these feelings," he wrote, recalling the Russian attack on Georgia in 2018.

However, he considers it impossible for him to go to Ukraine until individual representatives of the Ukrainian government fully agree that, in his view, Georgia is providing "strong support" to Ukraine. He cited voting in favour of Ukraine on international platforms such as the United Nations as examples of such support.

Papuashvili also described how he sees the relationship between Kyiv and Tbilisi now. He described it as a crisis involving "attempts by representatives of the Ukrainian government to separate the Georgian people from their government, a request to open a second front in Georgia, constant diplomatic démarches, and groundless accusations of smuggling or being accused of wanting to capitalise on the Ukrainians’ ordeal".

"While these problems remain unclarified, an official invitation (to visit Bucha) seems inappropriate," the speaker added.

As is well known, relations between Ukraine and Georgia have sharply deteriorated since the Russian invasion due to Georgia’s unwillingness to condemn Russia’s actions. Papuashvili's statement was almost the first such official condemnation, at least in relation to Bucha. Previously, the Georgian government lied to the Ukrainian embassy about negotiations with Russia, tried to stop volunteers from leaving for Ukraine and so on. Recently a new conflict has erupted between Georgia and Ukraine over possible transit for the Russian army.