Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi addressed the ongoing political crisis in Georgia during his speech on Wednesday at the UN General Assembly, saying Russian influence has become increasingly strong in the country. Georgian Dream officials heavily criticised Zelenskyi’s remarks in response, with MP Irakli Kirtskhalia calling him a ‘puppet’ and saying he should ‘clean out his mouth’.
Zelenskyi’s comments about Georgia came while he was speaking about Russia’s efforts to interfere in the internal affairs of Moldova, arguing that the West is not doing enough to support Chișinău.
‘We have already lost Georgia in Europe. Human rights and the European nature of the state system are only shrinking there. Georgia is dependent on Russia’, Zelenskyi said.
‘It’s important to remember how the world once ignored the need to help Georgia after Russia’s attack — and how the moment was missed with Belarus’, he added, likely referring to the 2008 August War and the 2020 crackdown on protests against the Belarusian election that was widely viewed as rigged in favour of Belarusian President Aliaksandr Lukashenka.
Zelenskyi is a ‘puppet’ who should ‘wash his mouth’
A number of high-ranking officials from the ruling Georgian Dream party criticised Zelenskyi’s comments, with varying degrees of vitriol.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on Thursday that he does not ‘wish to engage in a polemic with Volodymyr Zelenskyi’, adding that ‘he is the president of a country at war, and therefore, regardless of what he says, I do not see it as necessary to respond’.
However, Kobakhidze went on to falsely claim that ‘Georgia is the unquestioned leader among European Union candidate countries, including in terms of democracy and human rights’.
Georgia’s EU accession process had already been de facto frozen before the government announced in November 2024 it was postponing its efforts to join the bloc. On the other hand, Ukraine and Moldova have continued to move forward in their respective bids to become members of the EU.
Tbilisi Mayor and Georgian Dream Secretary General Kakha Kaladze echoed the sentiment, saying, ‘It would be better for [Zelenskyi] to first take care of his own country and think about his own people’.
The criticism from Irakli Kirtskhalia, deputy chair of Georgian Dream’s parliamentary faction, was much harsher.
‘This puppet [referring to Zelenskyi], before he dares, as his high-ranking officials dared, to insult our country and make direct calls for war, should first clean out his mouth and speak in a way that is respectful of our country’, Kirtskhalia said.
Parliamentary Speaker Shalva Papuashvili went even further, suggesting that Zelenskyi should hold elections so that the Ukrainian people can hold him accountable. Russia, as well as critics of Ukraine, have long called for the country to hold elections, despite the fact that it is illegal under Ukrainian law as long as martial law is in place.
Papuashvili also referenced several conspiracy theories involving Ukraine.
‘Despite Zelenskyi’s special services sending [former President Mikheil] Saakashvili here [in 2021] to stir trouble, and despite attempts to smuggle explosives into the country, we have refrained from escalation. Despite everything President Zelenskyi is doing to the Georgian people, we are restraining ourselves’.
Papuashvili was referring to a recent claim that Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) had instructed two Ukrainian nationals to smuggle explosives into Georgia, a plot that Georgian authorities have linked to the domestic opposition and the upcoming municipal elections.
Once close allies, Georgia’s relations with Ukraine have soured in recent years, complicated by the large presence of Georgian volunteer fighters in Ukraine, Georgia’s own democratic backsliding, and Zelenskyi’s connections with Saakashvili and his United National Movement party (UNM).
Nana Gongadze
