24 Jul, 2024 10:27

Georgian PM links Trump and Fico assassination attempts

Irakli Kobakhidze claims the organizers of the attacks also targeted the founder of Tbilisi’s ruling party, Bidzina Ivanishvili

A plot to assassinate the founder of Georgia’s ruling party was orchestrated by the same forces that tried to kill former US President Donald Trump and Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has claimed.

His comments come after Georgia’s State Security Service (SSS) announced it had launched an investigation into a plot to assassinate the founder of the Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, and a number of other high-ranking officials within the party.

The SSS said it is investigating an alleged plot against Ivanishvili, “organized and financed by former high-ranking officials of the Georgian government and former employees of the security agencies who are in Ukraine.”

The goal of the plot was to stage a violent coup against the backdrop of civil unrestand the weakening of state power, the agency claimed. The SSS added that it has begun questioning Georgians who have recently returned home after fighting in the Ukraine conflict.

At a press briefing on Wednesday, Kobakhidze suggested =there is a “common pattern that characterizes the same global political forces”behind the recent high-profile assassination attempts== in the US and Slovakia, and the alleged terrorism plans in Georgia.

He emphasized that the plot against Ivanishvili and the investigation launched by the SSS made it clear that these unnamed forces also represent a threat to Georgia.

Earlier this month, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed that the US is seeking to bring about regime change in Georgia by fomenting large protests around the time of the upcoming parliamentary elections in the former Soviet Republic.

According to the SVR,the administration of President Joe Biden has “already prepared a large-scale information campaign to discredit the Georgian Dream party” and “American ‘curators’ have already given the commandto the opposition forces in Georgia to begin planning protests in the country to coincide with the election.”

Relations between Tbilisi and Washington have recently soured after Georgian authorities passed the so-called ‘foreign agents’ law in May. The legislation requires NGOs, media outlets, and individuals that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as entities promoting “the interest of a foreign power.”

The law sparked mass protests in the Georgian capital and was heavily criticized by the West. The US has initiated a “comprehensive review”of its bilateral relations with Tbilisi and suspended joint military exercises, while the EU has paused Georgia’s accession to the bloc and frozen some $32 million in payments to the Georgian Defense Ministry.

(Funny how Ukraine is always involved, its lead by terrorists. I don’t doubt this.)

https://www.rt.com/russia/601576-georgia-party-assassination-plot/

24 Jul, 2024 12:23

Russia responds to Zelensky’s talks proposal

The Ukrainian leader is capable of lying and may simply be trying to promote his ‘peace formula’, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said

Vladimir Zelensky’s signal that Ukraine is ready to resume peace talks with Moscow is not credible, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.

In recent weeks, Zelensky has said that Kiev wants to end the conflict “as soon as possible,” preferably “by the end of this year.” He has also insisted on holding a second ‘peace summit’ to achieve that goal.

The last such event, hosted by Switzerland, focused on Kiev’s ‘peace formula’ – which demands that Russia withdraw its troops from all territory claimed by Ukraine. Moscow has dismissed the plan as detached from reality.

Commenting on the possibility of peace with Ukraine, Zakharova told reporters on Wednesday that “nobody trusts [Zelensky].”

“Everyone knows perfectly well that this is a man who can twist anything, who can lie, who can deny everything,” she said.

She recalled that neither Ukraine nor its Western backers have done anything to rescind Zelensky’s presidential decree barring Kiev from any talks with the current leadership in Moscow. The Ukrainian leader approved the document in the fall of 2022 after four former Ukrainian regions voted overwhelmingly to join Russia.

Last week, however, Zelensky suggested that he saw “no difference” in whether he had to engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin, or someone else, to end the conflict.

“We hear a lot of words, but we don’t see actions at all,” Zakharova noted, suggesting that Zelensky’s statements are no more than another attempt to promote Kiev’s ‘peace formula’ and dupe countries around the world into supporting the initiative.

The spokeswoman added thatZelensky’s unexpected “flexibility” on peace talks could be linked to recent major shifts in the US political landscape, in reference to the shooting of Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race.

The GOP candidate has repeatedly vowed to end the conflict within 24 hours if elected and has criticized open-ended US support for Kiev.

Zakharova’s comments come after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that Kiev “is willing to engage in dialogue and negotiations with Russia,” which he said must be “rational” and aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Kuleba’s words as being “in unison” with Russia’s stance. “The Russian side has never refused negotiations, [but] the details that we do not know yet are important here,” he added.

(It’s funny shortly after Trump spoke with Zelensky, he announced we have to end this war fast.Hey didn’t Trump talk to him before the attempted assassination?)

https://www.rt.com/russia/601586-zakahrova-zelensky-proposal-talks/