Georgia Accuses Ukrainian Official Of Plotting Coup

Tensions between Georgia and Ukraine have escalated as Georgia accused a senior Ukrainian official of orchestrating mass unrest with the aim of overthrowing the government in the Black Sea nation. Georgia has faced accusations of cooperating with Russia, despite the presence of Russian forces in separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia since the 2008 invasion of Georgia by Moscow. According to Georgia's security services, Giorgi Lortkipanidze, the deputy chief of Ukraine's military counterintelligence and Georgia's former deputy interior minister, was allegedly involved in a plot to destabilize the country and facilitate a violent government overthrow. The security services also claimed that individuals from Georgia who are fighting against Russian forces in Ukraine, including a bodyguard of Georgia's imprisoned ex-president Mikhail Saakashvili, were among those being trained near the Ukraine-Poland border. Ukraine has consistently called for Saakashvili's release, asserting that Georgian authorities are acting on Kremlin orders, and has demanded his transfer to a foreign clinic. Saakashvili is now a Ukrainian national and serves as a top advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In response to Georgia's accusations, Georgia's security service condemned the situation as "an extreme form of escalation in diplomatic relations." The security service also disclosed that anti-government protests were being planned for October and December, coinciding with the European Commission's expected decision on Georgia's application for EU membership. The plot was allegedly being coordinated and funded by a foreign country. While the European Union acknowledged Georgia's "European perspective" last year, it deferred its membership application while granting candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova. This decision has prompted widespread anti-government protests in Tbilisi, with allegations of the government reneging on democratic commitments and undermining Georgia's bid for EU membership. Earlier in September, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell stated that "there is still quite a bit of work to be done" by Tbilisi to attain formal candidate status.