What has been happening around the world in recent years is perhaps the most dramatic event in history since World War II, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili remarked in his speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Budapest, Hungary.

As PM noted, almost eighty years have passed since the defeat of the greatest evil in history, fascism, and “Since then, humanity as a whole, our countries and nations have gone through a number of difficult times”.

“We, like other nations, have gone through difficult periods of fight for freedom, civil wars, occupation, economic collapse, and autocratic regimes. Therefore, we are no strangers to challenges. However, what is happening around the world in recent years is perhaps the most dramatic event in history since World War II. The complex economic and humanitarian crisis caused by the pandemic has been further deepened by the ongoing large-scale military conflict on the European continent,” the PM stated.

The Government Head noted that stopping unjustified human and brutal destruction requires collective effort.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started a long war with no end in sight, which affects all of us. Stopping unjustified human sacrifice, the brutal destruction requires the greatest collective effort. Even today, as during World War II, the goal and mission for all of us, the entire humanity, is to secure peace. We must realize that there is no alternative to peace. As we support Ukraine, we must do more to ensure peace talks that result in lasting and stable peace conditions.

You all know that in August 2008 we had a full-scale war with Russia. Our country suffered heavy human losses and 20% of our territory is still occupied by Russia.

We, Georgians, know very well what is the price of peace. Georgia is a small, but strong and freedom-loving nation. However, when necessary, we fight selflessly to protect our freedom, our families, and our homeland. Without going into the entire history, even after gaining independence, we have witnessed several wars in our country. In recent years, our brave soldiers have been protecting global security together with the member countries of the NATO alliance. In Afghanistan, we were the largest per capita contributor to the Resolute Support Mission. 32 brave Georgian soldiers died in this mission, and hundreds were injured.

Therefore, as we are conscious of what war brings, we do everything for peace. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ teaches – “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God”. In these difficult times, despite numerous provocations and destabilization attempts, we managed to ensure peace in our country. In our post-independence history, for the first time during our tenure in power, we have safeguarded the long-term and uninterrupted peace in Georgia,” the PM stated.