Georgian Dream’s Draft Ukraine Resolution Criticized for Glossing Over Russia

Multi-party efforts for penning a joint parliamentary resolution in support of Ukraine has seemingly failed after the ruling Georgian Dream party-tabled draft fell short of explicitly mentioning Russia.

The governing party and the opposition had launched consultations after the United National Movement, Lelo and Strategy Aghmashenebeli MPs called on their GD colleagues on January 24 to take a united stance in support of Kyiv amid the threat of Russian invasion and Moscow’s demands that NATO should deny the eventual accession of Ukraine and Georgia.

Following negotiations today, UNM parliamentary faction chair Khatia Dekanoidze said the opposition parties cannot be the co-authors of the resolution since the draft document does not mention “Russian military aggression.”

MP Dekanoidze said the opposition will continue to discuss the way forward, and suggested they may table an alternative document.

Badri Japaridze, chair of the Lelo parliamentary faction, clarified that the GD chose to proceed with an initial draft of the document despite having discussed an improved version with the opposition today.

Chair of the parliamentary political group Reformers, Khatuna Samnidze asserted that the phrasing suggested by the opposition was not out of line with recent statements made by Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani on Russia.

But Georgian Dream faction chair Mamuka Mdinaradze disagreed, stating that the version tabled by the governing party lawmakers was “free of any populist and provocative rhetoric.”

MP Mdinaradze maintained that the opposition will eventually have to back the draft resolution because “every word in it is measured and none of the phrases could be controversial.”

Key Passages in GD-tabled Draft

The draft document reads that Georgia is “deeply concerned with the possible military escalation in Ukraine and denounces any intentions possibly targeted against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a sovereign country, which threatens the peace and security not only of Ukraine but of the region as well.”

The draft resolution also highlights that “accession to NATO is a sovereign right of a state and restricting this right with military-political means is categorically unacceptable.”

It also says that the Georgian Parliament “believes that not allowing war in Ukraine should be the key concern of the international community.”

The brief text goes on to express solidarity to “friendly Ukrainian people, who can receive severe harm with any possible military escalation.”

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