Zelenskyy Office’s Adviser: "We Must Save Georgia"
On October 21, Oleksiy Arestovych, an Adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, stated, "We will project force in Georgia. The 300,000 Russians fleeing to Georgia, a 3-million country or 10% of the population, are a major problem for Georgians. We will have to save Georgians, Moldova, Armenia, and everyone else."
"This is a catastrophe, especially considering the pro-Russian administration's incapacity for making decisions and its destruction of Saakashvili's legacy. As the Georgians say, everything is for sale, even the corrupt cops. Of course, there is a serious national security concern here. I can only imagine how patriotic Georgians in the government and special services are tearing their hair out trying to figure out how to solve this serious issue," he added.
"This is a good story because a million of our warriors will always have a job in the post-Soviet space in the foreseeable future – peacekeepers, stabilization operations, humanitarian operations, and so on. All of this has to be put in order," Arestovych stated.
Rati Bregadze, the Justice Minister for Georgia, condemned Arestovych's remarks, saying, "It would have been prudent to understand more about international law and international relations before making unlawful comments." Rati Bregadze thinks that anyone claiming to give advice should be knowledgeable about international law. "A fundamental rule of international law is that employing or threatening to use force is forbidden. Most likely, Alexei Arestovich does not know about it. Seriously, it is impossible to respond to that," the Minister said.
Ukraine Sanctions Ivanishvili-affiliated Individuals; Response from Georgia
On October 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a proclamation adding Alexander Ivanishvili, Ucha Mamatsashvili, Tate Mamatsashvili, and Ketevan Kharaidze, the four residents of Georgia, to Ukraine's sanctions list.
The statement calls for the entire suspension of commerce and resource transit, the freezing of assets, the revocation or suspension of licenses, the suspension of economic and financial responsibilities, and many other actions.
Over 3,600 people and organizations are included on the list, including members of Russian President Vladimir Putin's family and close circle, the country's regional elite and authorities, and oligarchs and their inner circle.
On October 20, Davit Arakhamia, the leader of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's party in the Ukrainian parliament, said that the Ukrainian president had given the go-ahead for the whole inner circle of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the current Georgian Dream party and a former prime minister of that country. Arakhamia expressed optimism that the Georgian media would reveal their names quickly. "We have learned this from the Americans, so we will first target Ivanishvili financially before going after him physically. For a free Georgia, I hope this is good news. I am still working to prosecute Georgian billionaires who block Georgia from entering the EU, as I promised," he said.
According to Nikoloz Samkharadze, the Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, the head of the country's parliamentary delegation will talk about the sanctions imposed by Ukraine against Georgian nationals and Arestovych's comments on Georgia during the upcoming meeting on the Crimea platform with Ukrainian Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk. "The decision on sanctions is unsubstantiated. As a result, we do not know why the Ukrainian authorities sanctioned these individuals but based on subsequent remarks, we are already dealing with a serious problem. Arestovych says Ukraine should project forces or interfere in Georgia. I am not sure how he came up with that. If someone has a little insight into international affairs, and Arestovych should be insightful, then saying this openly is not only ignorance, but some psychological illness," Samkharadze stated.
