Georgian PM: Russophobia is foreign to Georgia

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has said that Russophobia is not characteristic of Georgian society, warning that attempts to fuel anti-Russian sentiment could amount to provocation.

“The Georgian people are not characterised by Russophobia or any other kind of phobia, and when you artificially try to stir up Russophobia in the country, it means you are staging a provocation in your own country,” Kobakhidze told reporters, Russian media reports.

He said the Georgian public was not Russophobic and claimed that such views were promoted by foreign agents. Kobakhidze also accused unnamed groups of organising campaigns against Russian citizens and tourists in Georgia in recent years.

As an example, he cited the arrival of the cruise ship Astoria Grande carrying Russian tourists at the port of Batumi in 2023, when several dozen activists protested against the vessel’s arrival.

The Georgian State Security Service has separately said it opened a criminal investigation on suspicion of sabotage following social media posts alleging that Russian tourists had been mistreated in Georgia.

According to the security service, several accounts on X claimed that Russian tourists had been abandoned in a forest and that their restaurant food orders had been deliberately spoiled. The agency said the claims constituted disinformation that was subsequently published by a foreign online outlet.

By Sabina Mammadli