Georgian PM pledges to confront potential Maidan uprising

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has said that no one will be able to organise in Georgia the "Maidan" that took place in Ukraine under the externally appointed authorities.

The ruling Georgian Dream party has repeatedly said that the rallies against the adoption of the law "On Transparency of Foreign Influence" in Georgia used the same visual techniques that were used during the Maidan in Ukraine, Caliber.Az reports, citing Georgian media.

At the same time, Georgian Dream regarded the speech of the foreign ministers of Lithuania, Estonia and Iceland at the rally in Tbilisi as promoting "Maidanisation".

"I want to tell everyone that no one will achieve a 'Maidan' in Georgia. I want to remind you what the consequences of the "Maidan" were for Ukraine. Then, in fact, Ukrainian authorities were appointed from outside, first once, then a second time, and finally, those who appointed authorities from outside no longer took responsibility for the events that were developing in Ukraine," Kobakhidze said.

The prime minister said that until 2013, Ukraine was a state with territorial integrity and an economy of $200 billion, but today the country is ruined, the economy has shrunk significantly, and no one takes responsibility for all this.

"Accordingly, the most important thing we must safeguard is the independence of our country, because no one else can take responsibility for defending the interests of our country. This is the example of Ukraine. Therefore, we must protect the independence of our state," Kobakhidze said.

He also commented on the reaction of Estonian Prime Minister Kai Kallas to the speech of the country's Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhkna in front of protesters in Tbilisi on 15 May. According to Kallas, it was the minister's personal choice and it does not constitute interference in Georgia's internal affairs.

"The fact that the Foreign Minister is participating in an opposition action in Georgia without the consent of the Prime Minister, this shows the non-seriousness that is manifested in a particular structure. All this is very sad, however, it is their business," Kobakhidze said.

Kyiv's main square, Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), was occupied by supporters of European integration on 21 November 2013 immediately after the government announced that it would suspend the signing of the association agreement with the EU. Later, Maidan became the epicentre of a confrontation between law enforcers and radicals, with clashes resulting in dozens of casualties.

In February 2014, the Verkhovna Rada removed incumbent President Viktor Yanukovych from power, he was forced to leave Ukraine, and Petro Poroshenko was later elected president.

The new Ukrainian authorities blamed the deaths of more than 100 people on their political opponent Yanukovych and the Interior Ministry's Berkut special unit, which denied involvement in the killings.