Georgia’s Prime Minister-designate Iraklii Kobakhidze on Tuesday accused Ukraine of trying to start a war with Russia in his country after a shipment of explosives was allegedly intercepted at the border, Reuters reported.
The Security Service of Georgia announced on Monday that it had detained a secret shipment of explosives bound for the Russian city of Voronezh. The substances, which were supposed to come from Ukraine, were hidden in a cargo of car batteries that were transiting through Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, Reuters and Agerpres remind.
The Reuters agency notes the similarity of this incident with the explosion in October 2022 on the bridge connecting Russia with the occupied Crimea. Moscow accused Kyiv of an attack with explosives hidden in a truck that was sent from Ukraine on a circuitous route through other countries.
“This confirms what, in principle, Ukrainian high-ranking officials openly said they wanted and probably still want: a second front in our country,” said Kobakhidze, quoted by the Interpressnews media portal.
The prime minister-designate will replace Iraklii Garibashvili, who resigned last week to allow the Georgian Dream party, which has been in power since 2013, to appoint a new leader ahead of elections this year. According to Reuters, Georgians believe the formation has reoriented Georgia, long one of the most pro-Western former Soviet republics, to a position closer to Russia. The new orientation became more noticeable after the invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
The Embassy of Ukraine in Tbilisi reported that it will consider the accusations of the security service of Georgia “regarding the involvement of Ukrainian citizens in illegal activities” and asked the Georgian authorities not to politicize the incident.
In March 2023, Ukraine recalled its ambassador from Georgia for consultations due to bilateral differences. Later, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, dismissed the diplomat in question, and a representative of a lower rank remained acting temporarily.
Reuters reminds that Russian troops are stationed on the territory of Georgia, in the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia; in 2008 there was a short Russian-Georgian war. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Georgia fell behind other candidates for joining NATO and the EU, joining Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova in this effort.
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Source: Hot News
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