The head of the Georgian government does not intend to refuse to use photos of destroyed Ukrainian cities in political advertising
Prime Minister of Georgia Iraklii Kobakhidze does not intend to exclude the topic of the war in Ukraine from his pre-election campaign. About this informs “Exo Caucasus”.
The Georgian Dream party, headed by Kobakhidze, launched a series of advertising banners and videos depicting Ukrainian cities destroyed by Russian troops in contrast to peaceful Georgian landscapes as part of the election campaign. This advertising campaign drew criticism from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, but Kobakhidze said that he considered it appropriate to compare the war in Ukraine with the peace in Georgia.
When asked by journalists how he would react if Ukraine used footage of the destroyed Sukhumi for political advertising, the prime minister replied that Ukrainians have already used these images in various contexts, even for a humorous purpose. He added that the purpose of the current advertising campaign is to highlight what Georgia managed to avoid in 2022.
Kobakhidze also recalled the events of the August 2008 war, accusing the then government of Mikheil Saakashvili of provoking the conflict. According to him, “Saakashvili’s regime” started the war, although he admitted that it was Russia that occupied Georgian territories. He emphasized that if the opposition party “National Movement” comes to power, Georgia could again be under the threat of war.
“Why didn’t Russia invade Georgia in 2022? This was made possible thanks to our policy. If we had followed the demands coming from high officials of the Ukrainian government, Russian troops could have entered Georgia in 2022.”– said the Prime Minister.
It will be recalled that the Georgian Dream party recently presented a series of pre-election posters and videos, which depict footage of destroyed Ukrainian cities next to footage of peaceful Georgian cities, fountains, and new buses, calling on voters to “choose peace” and say “no to war.” This advertising campaign drew criticism from the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, who condemned the use of images of destroyed Ukrainian cities in political advertising.
