Country between EU and Russia
Georgia accuses Ukraine of plotting a coup
September 18, 2023, 8:04 p.m
Georgia’s government has recently leaned more closely towards Russia again. Many citizens are leaning towards the EU. This leads to protests in the country. But these are said to have been pushed forward by a Ukrainian security representative. It is said in Tbilisi that he is planning a coup.
Georgia has accused a senior Ukrainian official of plotting to overthrow the Georgian government by organizing mass protests. Security services said that the deputy head of Ukraine’s military counterintelligence and former deputy interior minister of Georgia, Giorgi Lortkipanidze, was pursuing “destabilization with the aim of violently overthrowing the government.” It was said that the co-conspirators also included Georgians who fought against Russian troops in Ukraine.
Relations between the two former Soviet republics are tense. Georgia is accused of collaborating with the Kremlin, although Russia continues to station soldiers in the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Kiev has also repeatedly called on Tbilisi to release former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. Saakashvili has Ukrainian citizenship and is an important advisor to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky. Kiev accuses Georgian authorities of “killing” the imprisoned ailing politician and has demanded his transfer to a clinic abroad.
EU will soon decide on application for membership
Georgia, for its part, accuses Ukraine of an “extreme form of escalation in diplomatic relations.” According to security services, anti-government demonstrations are planned for October and December “when the European Commission will publish its decision on Georgia’s EU membership application.” The coup was being carried out “with the cooperation and financing of a foreign country.”
The EU recognized Georgia’s “European perspective” last year. However, unlike Ukraine and Moldova, Georgia has not been granted the official status of a candidate country. This led to large demonstrations against the government in Tbilisi, which faces accusations of neglecting its commitments to democracy and undermining the push for EU membership.
The Caucasus republic has been trying to join the European Union for years. However, the current government of Prime Minister Iraqi Gharibashvili has been increasingly turning to Russia again since last year.