Georgia's Prime Minister says Georgia is doing everything to preserve peace even as it resumes ties with Russia

Georgia’s Prime Minister said that his country was doing everything within its powers to preserve peace even as Georgia refused to impose sanctions against Russia in light of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Source: Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia, during the Council of Europe Summit in Reykjavik

Details: During his speech, Garibashvili said that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has put Europe in an exceptionally tough situation.

"Georgia firmly supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, given our own experience of Russian aggression in 2008, when we were involved in a full-scale war with Russia. Our country suffered a lot in that war, and 20% of our territory remains under [Russian] occupation," Garibashvili said.

He added that Georgia’s experience means that its people "know the price of war and the price of peace very well". He recalled that since gaining independence, Georgia has gone through several wars on its territory and is now doing everything it can to preserve peace.

"We know what war brings, and we are doing everything to preserve peace […] It is clear that the global order is currently undergoing changes and that the world will never be as it was before. No one will be able to get out of this difficult situation all on their own. We need unity, and a global consolidation for a new, just order," the Georgian Prime Minister said.

Garibashvili made these remarks against the backdrop of the Georgian government’s decision to resume direct flights between Georgia and Russia – while all Western countries have closed their skies for Russian airlines.

In recent days, Georgia has allowed two airlines to operate direct flights to Russia. Flights between Russia and Georgia are expected to resume on 19 May.

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