Stefanchuk rebukes Georgian parliament speaker for refusal to visit Bucha and Irpin

Stefanchuk announced this on his Facebook page, Ukrinform reports.

"Inappropriate. This is how Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili described my invitation to visit Bucha and Irpin. […] The only thing that makes me feel unspeakably embarrassed is the question: 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? It seems to me that your friend should do it without any invitation," Stefanchuk said.

He said Papuashvili considered it impossible to go to Ukraine until "some representatives of the Ukrainian government are fully aware of the strong support" provided by Georgia. Among the examples of such strong support, the Georgian parliament speaker cited Georgia's vote in favor of Ukraine on international platforms, including the UN.

"Colleague, Ukraine appreciates any assistance it receives from other countries at this difficult time. We are asking [all countries] every day to strengthen sanctions, provide military, political and financial support. There are countries that help us in all areas. There are countries that help us only in isolated issues," Stefanchuk said.

He stressed that Ukraine has always valued the sincere support of the Georgian people. He added that Ukrainians know that Georgians are always sincere, brave and courageous warriors, many of whom now stand side by side with Ukrainian soldiers, defending Ukraine from Russian invasion.

"That's what many Ukrainians did in 2008, when they stood by the Georgians against the same Russian Federation that encroached on your independence, swallowed a piece of your territory, killed your people. From the first days of your confrontation with Russia, Ukraine supported Georgia at the political, informational, international and military levels," Stefanchuk said.

He recalled that in 2008 Georgians defended their skies thanks to Ukrainian air defense systems Buk and Osa. At the same time, Stefanchuk said that he does not want to measure the amount of support, as it should always be sincere.

Earlier, Stefanchuk invited the heads of parliaments of all countries to come to the Kyiv region liberated from Russian invaders to see firsthand the consequences of the "Russian world."

Papuashvili called the proposal to visit Bucha "inappropriate." He explained his refusal by the recent escalation of relations between Ukraine and Georgia over Tbilisi's refusal to support sanctions against Russia.