Ruling Georgian Dream party chairperson Irakli Kobakhidze has defended the country not being invited to a recent G7 meeting in Germany, asserting that anyone angered at Georgia’s absence from the gathering, to which Ukraine and Moldova were invited, is “upset that Georgia is not involved in a military conflict.”
“The reason [for non-invitation] is that Georgia’s condition today is not connected to war, as a result, the reason is very positive, why we are not attending the G7 meeting — we are not connected to war, in contrast with Ukraine and Moldova,” MP Kobakhidze told reporters on May 14.
The ruling party chief also cited the statement by the German Embassy in Tbilisi to the media on May 13, which assuaged rising questions by stating that Ukraine was invited as it is at war while neighboring Moldova experienced a direct impact by accepting Ukrainian refugees.
Georgia’s opposition reacted to the news with dismay. Giga Bokeria of the European Georgia party spoke of the “alarming results of the political regime of [Bidzina] Ivanishvili,” ex-PM and Georgian Dream founder.
“There is no trust towards this regime that in this confrontation between the free world and Putin’s Russia it [GD government] stands for the free world,” Bokeria said on May 13.
Tinatin Khidasheli, former Defense Minister of Georgia, also expressed concerns as Georgia could not secure its seat at the meeting in Germany.
In an interview with government-critical Mtavari Arkhi TV on May 13, she added that Georgia also failed to get an invitation to the NATO military chiefs of defense meeting, slated for May 19.
“This is the type of meeting which Georgia, always, and I say this with full responsibility, was at the top of the invite list, and now this reality is radically different,” Khidasheli stressed.
The meeting between G7 Foreign Ministers, also attended by Ukrainian top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba and Moldova’s Nicu Popescu, was held on May 12-14 in Weissenhaus, northern Germany.
Also Read:
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