It has been 10 years since Russia invaded and illegally annexed Crimea, and for more than 900 days Russia has been waging its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. With this speech, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili addressed the participants of the fourth Crimea Platform summit via video.
“Is it a coincidence that this meeting is taking place on September 11? That 23 years ago terror struck at the very heart of freedom and democracy, killing and wounding thousands of innocent civilians, and that today terror strikes again, but this time in the very heart of Europe - in Lviv or Poltava? Reminding us that we cannot resign ourselves, that the struggle for freedom, human values, human dignity, sovereignty, independence and democracy does not tolerate compromise. Only by achieving all this can we hope to achieve lasting peace,” Zurabishvili said.
According to her, what is happening in Ukraine is not a tragedy for just one country, “it is a warning to the world that Russia, if left unchecked, will continue to use these brutal tactics, whether it is direct conventional warfare, military occupation, hybrid warfare or disinformation campaigns, to achieve its imperialist ambitions.”
Zurabishvili expressed support for Ukraine and stressed that the country “shattered the image of the all-powerful Russian army, demonstrated that Russia’s invincibility was a myth, that Russia could not conquer Kyiv in three or 900 days, and could not weaken Ukrainian society or separate Ukraine from the support of its European and American friends.”
"And while Ukraine continues to fight for its freedom and the freedom of Europe, I would like to repeat once again that the Georgian people are with you, the world is with you, and together we will show that the free world cannot be intimidated by those who seek to divide, destroy and conquer. Glory to Ukraine!" the Georgian leader concluded.
The Georgian opposition reproached the ruling party for the fact that their government, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, is moving closer to Russia.
In response, the speaker of parliament Irakli Kobakhidze accused critics of wanting to open a "second front" in order to drag Georgia into the war. And the then Prime Minister from the "dreamers" Irakli Garibashvili said back in 2022: "We do not want war, even if this is the price of joining the EU."
The law "On Transparency of Foreign Influence" initiated by the ruling party and already in force was perceived by the opposition and the West as an analogue of the Russian legislation "on foreign agents", contradicting European values. At the same time, Georgia officially strives to join the EU and maintains relations with NATO.
The country's president, unlike the government, openly demonstrates a position of support for Ukraine, despite the fact that she was initially elected from the ruling party.
