Georgian Parliament official accuses radical opposition of seeking to undermine Georgian-Abkhaz reconciliation efforts

Rati Ionatamishvili, the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights Protection and Civil Integration, on Thursday accused the domestic radical opposition of attempting to undermine efforts aimed at restoring Georgian-Abkhaz ties.

In a social media message, Ionatamishvili noted that the opposition’s reaction to reports that a Georgian business had delivered fuel to Abkhazia demonstrated its opposition to reconciliation efforts and highlighted what he described as the need to remove “agents” from Georgia’s political landscape.

He further added that the fuel shipment amounted to 3,000 tons and was carried out in full compliance with Georgia’s sovereignty and legislation, rejecting claims that the fuel was intended for Russian military forces, describing such allegations as absurd.

“Let us take a simple look at the hysteria displayed by these agents yesterday. During the day, it emerged that a business had delivered several fuel tankers to Abkhazia. The shipment was carried out in full compliance with Georgia’s sovereignty and legislation. In total, it amounted to 3,000 tonnes of fuel - the equivalent of several truckloads. And what happened next? Without exception, all of these agents fell into line and began spreading the same narrative, claiming that the shipment was intended for the Russian military and effectively portraying Georgia - their nominal homeland - as a co-belligerent in the war”, he said.

Ionatamishvili argued that the volume of fuel delivered was insignificant compared to Russia’s annual fuel consumption and therefore could not realistically be considered a supply operation for Russian forces.

“Isn’t it absurd to suggest that a few fuel tankers were intended to supply Russia? Clearly, it is. But when you are an agent and are instructed to promote such an implausible claim, you are expected to do so without question. On the other hand, since these people are constantly tasked with destabilising our country and creating disorder and chaos, they clearly cannot tolerate any humanitarian steps by the authorities that contribute to restoring trust between Georgians and Abkhaz and advancing the reconciliation process. Moreover, acting on the instructions of their handlers, these agents will do everything in their power to prevent these problematic relations from being resolved and instead push the process into an even deeper deadlock, leaving Georgia constantly exposed to the threat of escalation and serious challenges”, Ionatamishvili continued.

Ionatamishvili also linked the controversy to what he described as a “provocative” statement previously made by opposition politician Gia Baramidze, arguing that both incidents were intended to obstruct confidence-building efforts between Georgians and Abkhazians.

“Ultimately, both provocations serve the same purpose: they have been instructed to obstruct the process of restoring trust in Georgian-Abkhaz relations, even if that means resorting to the dirtiest and most anti-Georgian actions”, Ionatamishvili said.