Georgian PM refuses to stop using war in Ukraine in election campaign
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has made it clear that his party will not give up using the war in Ukraine for election purposes.
Source: Ekho Kavkaza, as reported by European Pravda
Details: As part of its election campaign, the Georgian Dream party has created a video and a series of street posters that contrast devastated Ukrainian cities with peaceful Georgian ones.
In response to criticism from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Irakli Kobakhidze said he believes it is vital to compare the conflict in Ukraine to peace in Georgia.
Journalists asked him how he would react if Ukraine used video from Sukhumi for electoral purposes [Sukhumi is the capital of the Georgian breakaway state of Abkhazia – ed.].
Quote: "I recall Ukrainians actively using these images for a variety of purposes, including humorous ones, but that's another topic. Today, we are discussing the effects of the war in general and what we have avoided for our country in 2022," he said.
Kobakhidze recalled the events of the August war of 2008 and accused the "Saakashvili regime" of starting the war.
"Yes, Russia occupied our territories, but the Saakashvili regime started the war. And now, if the National Movement party comes to power, they will open a second front in Georgia in a week.
Why did Russia not enter Georgia in 2022? Do you have an explanation? We saved it, yes! We saved Georgia, and if we had complied with the demands of senior officials in the Ukrainian leadership, Russian troops would have entered Georgia in 2022," Kobakhidze said.
In a statement, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the ruling Georgian Dream party’s use of images of the consequences of Russia's war against Ukraine in political advertising, describing it as unacceptable.
As part of its election campaign, Georgian Dream has produced banners containing images of the destruction caused by Russia in Ukraine in contrast with "normal life" in Georgia.
The campaign features a series of similar posters and a video in which intact Georgian cities, fountains and new buses are juxtaposed against footage of destruction in Ukraine.
The captions on the banners urge voters to "choose peace" and "say no to war". Sometimes the photos of the destruction are complemented by images of candidates from pro-Western opposition parties.
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