TBILISI - Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has accused the country's former President Mikheil Saakashvili of "betrayal and provocation" following his calls for Georgian servicemen to resign from the Georgian army and go to fight in Ukraine.
“The fact that former President Mikheil Saakashvili, who is also ex-commander-in-chief and faces a number of charges, and his representatives call on Georgian servicemen to relinquish their Georgian citizenship, resign from the Armed Forces of Georgia and go to fight in Ukraine in exchange for a high reward amounts to a direct betrayal and a call for a betrayal,” the prime minister said at his year-end press conference on Dec. 26.
Garibashvili also said that he sees Saakashvili as an enemy of Georgia and the Georgian people.
“The only thing Saakashvili is doing today is seeking a conflict and disturbances in Georgia. He wants Georgia to once again engage in an armed confrontation with Russia,” he said.
Garibashvili confirmed that Georgia is extending purely humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
“We make official announcements about any projects in which we officially participate. They include the missions in Afghanistan and Central Africa. Our servicemen take part in missions only if their participation in them is approved by the state,” the prime minister said.
