The Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Ukrainian parliament - translator’s note), Ruslan Stefanchuk, rebuked the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili for his words about the "inappropriateness" of visiting Bucha and Irpin in the Kyiv region, where the crimes and atrocities of the Russian military are being recorded. He wrote about this on his Facebook page.
"Inappropriate. This is how my invitation to visit Bucha and Irpin was described by the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili. The question that bothers me: is it appropriate to call "inappropriate" an invitation to come to a friendly country and see its plight, share its grief, express words of support?… I believe that a friend should do this without an invitation because, in my opinion, this is exactly what the great Shota Rustaveli (classical Georgian poet - translator's note) said: A friend will help his trusted friend; he will not fear the misfortune. He will give his heart for his heart," said the Speaker of the Ukrainian parliament.
He noted that Shalvi Papuashvili considers it impossible to go to Ukraine until "certain representatives of the Ukrainian government fully recognize the strong support" provided by Georgia. Among the examples of such strong support, the Speaker of the Georgian parliament cited Georgia's vote in favor of Ukraine on international platforms, including the UN.
"There are countries that help us in all areas. Some countries help only in individual issues," said the Speaker of Verkhovna Rada to his Georgian colleague.
Ruslan Stefanchuk stressed that the Ukrainian state values and has always valued the sincere support of the Georgian people. He added that Ukrainians know that Georgians remain open-hearted, brave, and courageous soldiers, many of whom now stand side by side with Ukrainian defenders, defending Ukraine from Russian invasion.
"Just like many Ukrainians in 2008 stood by the Georgians against the same Russian Federation that infringed on your independence, swallowed a piece of your territory, killed your people. From the first days of your confrontation with Russia, Ukraine supported Georgia politically and on the informational, international, and military levels," Stefanchuk stressed.
He said that in 2008 Georgians defended their skies thanks to Ukrainian air defense systems (Buk and Osa). At the same time, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada stated that he wasn't trying to compare the amount of support, as it should always be sincere.
Ruslan Stefanchuk had invited all heads of the world's parliaments to visit the territories around Kyiv liberated from the Russian invaders and to see for themselves the consequences of the "russkiy mir" (russian world or russian order - translator's note).
The Speaker of the Georgian parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, called this invitation "inappropriate."