Papuashvili warns against escalation with Russia; ready to show British and German ambassadors front line to deploy their soldiers

“There’s an attempt to drag Georgia into an escalation with Russia. If they can do anything, they know where the front line is. If not, I will show the British and German ambassadors a map of the front line, to put their soldiers in the trenches, and fight. They should stop dragging Georgia into trouble,” said Shalva Papuashvili, Speaker of the Georgian Parliament.

He claimed some ambassadors accredited to Georgia are trying to involve the country in tensions with Russia.

“Yesterday, several ambassadors received the truth in its purest form. They spoke more honestly than they have in four years. It became clear that for the past four years, the main reason we’ve been criticised by the West and the EU is that we haven’t escalated with Russia. They act as if no one ever asked us to open a second front. But what does that mean? Telling Georgia to impose sanctions on Russia, ban tourists, restrict trade, stop exporting wine, and block flights, as the EU ambassador suggested, effectively drags us into a conflict. It’s a war where neither the British, Germans, French, nor anyone else will come to our aid. They will leave us alone, as always.

Regarding the British ambassador’s recent statements, he has been visiting offices and meeting with MPs in person. He is directly demanding that Georgia stop importing Russian gas and petrol, effectively calling for sanctions, meaning, for war. When we explain that banning our trade and refusing cheap Russian fuel will only make everything more expensive here, he responds that it doesn’t matter because it’s become costly for them as well. Seeing him speak in Georgian about love and friendship, we see only hypocrisy.

There’s an attempt to drag Georgia into an escalation with Russia. If they can do anything, they know where the front line is. If not, I will show the British and German ambassadors a map of the front line, to put their soldiers in the trenches, and fight. They should stop dragging Georgia into trouble,” the Parliament Speaker concluded.