Georgia faces pressure for "second front" in early weeks of Ukraine crisis: PM

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said Wednesday that Georgia had faced strong external pressure in the early weeks of the Ukraine crisis.

Kobakhidze made the remarks in response to a question about meetings held in February and March 2022 between Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and former U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan.

"There were three meetings, and I attended one of them. In two out of the three, there was a direct call for opening a second front," Kobakhidze was quoted as saying by TV Imedi.

"Such wording was used: if aggression cannot be contained, then Georgia should switch to partisan warfare. The conversation went into detailed scenarios of this kind," he said.

Georgian officials sought clarification but were repeatedly met with silence, Kobakhidze said, describing the meetings as harsh and claiming they were not even allowed to ask certain questions.

The government cannot release additional details due to national security considerations, he added.