Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has claimed that the European Union views Ukraine as part of its own line of defence, arguing that Georgia could have been drawn into a conflict with Russia as a “second front” under an opposition-led government.
Papuashvili made the remarks while commenting on a statement by the deputy chairman of the parliamentary faction of Germany’s ruling party, who described support for Ukraine as “the most economically effective way of ensuring Germany’s security.”
“Ukraine is viewed as its own line of defence. Yes, it is economically effective because they themselves do not have to fight; the blood of Germans, French and Lithuanians is not being shed — it is Ukrainian blood that is being shed to ensure the defence of the European Union,” Papuashvili said.
He also alleged that opposition forces would have sought to involve Georgia in the conflict and claimed that an attempt had been made to rig the 2020 elections for this purpose.
“These people would even have been happy to find themselves on the front line. There was an attempt to rig the 2020 elections for this purpose. Georgia was supposed to play the role of a second front, so that the EU’s defence would be economically effective while we fought here and held back Russian servicemen, while others sat at seminars and discussions and calmly debated our fate,” Papuashvili said.
He added that Georgia would have received political support from its partners, but claimed that the country would ultimately have borne the human cost of such a conflict.
By Vafa Guliyeva
