Abkhaz ‘prime minister’ Adds to ‘Second Front’ Claims
In conversation with Ria Novosti, Alexander Ankvab, the “prime minister” of occupied Abkhazia, claimed on 11 December that Europe had been working to open up a second front against Russia in Georgia.
Ankvab had been asked whether there is any danger of an escalation with Georgia and if Tbilisi may try to take advantage of the situation against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, to which he responded by claiming that “emissaries” from different European countries, “especially from Poland” had been working to open up a second front. “But, thank God, this is not happening yet,” he added.
In that vein, Ankvab noted that “there are many reasonable people in Georgia who will not allow an escalation.”
This is not the first time Sokhumi is talking about the opening of “the second front.” In November Sergei Shamba, the head of “the security council” of occupied Abkhazia, stated, “there is a threat of further aggravation of the situation in the region because the West is pushing Georgia to open “the second front” in Abkhazia.
Before that, in September, Inal Ardzinba, the occupied province’s top diplomat, said at a session of the public council of the Abkhaz “foreign ministry” that the geopolitical situation both in the world and the region is complicated and “there are many forces aimed at diverting Russia’s military and economic resources away from the Donbas.” “One of them is Georgia, which is actively conducting exercises with NATO, purchasing drones, and making attempts to produce them on its own territory,” he said at the time.
- 16/09/2022 – Abkhazia Remains Anxious about Regional Security
Significantly, such statements echo remarks made by Georgian Dream leaders and departed members of the ruling party about attempts to drag Georgia into war. In the last example, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili accused opponents of continuously trying to open up a second front in Georgia, claiming, “despite many attempts to bring the second front to Georgia, as a result of our reasonable policy, all this was avoided…”
Notably, such allegations have been repeatedly denied by the country’s Western partners.
- 22/07/2022 – Georgian President Scolds Ruling Party for Anti-Western Rhetoric
- 13/06/2022 – U.S. not Dragging Georgia into War, Says Ambassador
- 10/05/2022 – As Ivanishvili Battles Swiss Bank, GD Hints at U.S. Pushing Georgia into War
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
