Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia ruled out drawing the country into the conflict in Ukraine

The Georgian authorities will not allow Tbilisi to be involved in a military confrontation and will not help any of the parties to the conflict in Ukraine, Georgian Deputy Prime Minister Teya Tsulukiani said.

Previously, as informs Sputnik Georgia, adviser to the presidential administration of Ukraine Mikhail Podolyak commented on the republic’s refusal to transfer the Buk anti-aircraft missile system to Kyiv. He stated that “even after ten and a half months of war, the Georgian government does not understand which side it should be on.”

“There is only one answer – the Georgian authorities will not allow the state of Georgia to be involved in a military confrontation. Therefore, we will not provide military assistance, of course, to any of the parties to the military conflict, especially since, as far as I know, we are talking about the transfer of such weapons that we have acquired, but this is just a detail,” Tsulukiani said.

She added that Georgia has already experienced “many wars”, and the authorities cannot allow the country to become involved in a new conflict, since “this is our responsibility for the future of our country.”

On January 9, the European Pravda publication published an article by Andrey Kasyanov, Chargé d’Affaires of Ukraine in Georgia, in which he spoke about Kyiv’s request to Tbilisi to return the Buk air defense system to Ukraine, which Ukraine had previously transferred to the republic. The diplomat said that Kyiv also asked for Javelin anti-tank missile systems, which Georgia received from the United States.

After that, the Georgian Ministry of Defense declaredthat the country will not return the Buk air defense system to Ukraine, since the republic bought this weapon, and did not receive it for free. “The information disseminated by the media that Ukraine donated the Buk air defense system to Georgia does not correspond to reality. <...> As for the transfer of weapons or dual-use equipment to Ukraine, the Georgian government has repeatedly voiced a clear position on this issue,” the statement said.

The Georgian Defense Ministry noted that in 2007 the republic received Buk systems from Ukraine as a result of “multi-million purchases.” Due to the secret agreement, Tbilisi cannot disclose the details, the department added.

The Georgian authorities also reminded that they continue to provide humanitarian aid and political support to Kyiv. In particular, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic pointed to the generators, which were transferred to Ukraine at the initiative of the Prime Minister of Georgia. Commenting on the words of Kasyanov, the Georgian Defense Ministry recalled that in 2017 the country spent several tens of millions of dollars to purchase Javelins from the United States.

After the start of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, the Georgian authorities have repeatedly said that they are not going to provide military assistance to Kyiv and supply weapons. Thus, on December 7, 2022, the prime minister of the republic, Irakli Garibashvili, stated that Georgia “will never join the conflict.”