Georgia Will Not Return Weapons Provided to Ukraine in 2008

Georgian politicians believe that Tbilisi paid for the weapons in due time and now they are the property of the country. The Georgian ruling party Georgian Dream reacted to a statement by Ukrainian Charge d’Affaires Andrei Kasianov that Kyiv had asked Tbilisi to give back Buk complexes, which Ukraine had provided to Georgia during the 2008 war, but was refused. Eurointegration.com.ua publishes the politicians’ comments citing the Georgian newspaper SOVA. According to Givi Mikanadze, a member of the parliamentary majority, the anti-aircraft missile systems were not given free of charge. “I do not know what Ukraine gave us after the 2008 war, as far as I know, if anything was given, it was bought. So, if something was bought, it is Georgian property and it is Georgian weapon,” Mikanadze said. At the same time, he stressed that this could be “another attempt to somehow involve Georgia in this war.” Gia Volski, a ruling party member, called Andrei Kasianov “inadequate” and also added that money had been paid for all the weapons Georgia has. “First of all, Kasianov’s statement is inadequate with regard to the 2008 situation. Billions were paid for military equipment, and what he calls aid to Georgia was in fact received in exchange for money... Regarding the inadequacy of the statement, it is not surprising that it characterizes some officials, but I think that Kasianov himself is inadequate in his actions, therefore as a person he should be evaluated in the same way,” Volski said. The Georgian MP claims that Ukraine not only formed a request to transfer weapons but also allegedly to organize the transfer of volunteers. “They even sent planes, charter flights from Ukraine, which we declined because it would mean joining the war,” Volski said. As a reminder, Kasianov said in an article on the website that Kyiv requested the transfer of Buk complexes, which Ukraine had handed over to Georgia during the 2008 war. Ukraine’s request also included Javelin anti-tank systems which the United States provided to Georgia. But, as Kasianov said, the Georgian government refused to provide aid. He assured that, despite the refusal, Ukraine is against using this issue in domestic political disputes and rejects any accusations of trying to drag Georgia into the war with Russia.