TBILISI, December 3. /TASS/. The BBC story accusing Tbilisi police of using chemical weapons against protesters was fabricated to further "blackmail" Georgia’s government, the country's Prime Minister Irakly Kobakhidze said.

"Obviously, the BBC report is not just false, it is a cheap provocation planned by foreign intelligence services, the aims of which are twofold. The first one is to give our enemies the opportunity to artificially reignite the protests that died out some time ago. The second one is to create a pretext to continue blackmailing the Georgian people and its elected government," Kobakhidze said at a news briefing.

The prime minister noted that European politicians and members of the European Parliament are planning to discuss the BBC report at the upcoming OSCE Ministerial Council meeting. In his opinion, this situation is similar to when European media extensively covered claims about Georgia’s former President Mikhail Saakashvili being poisoned. Today, everyone knows that the Saakashvili story, and the BBC report, was fabricated, Kobakhidze emphasized.

Georgia’s government is planning to file lawsuits in the British House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee, as well as in international courts if needed, the prime minister said.

On December 1, the BBC published a report alleging that the Georgian authorities had used World-War-1-era chemical weapons against protesters in 2024. The report claimed that the substance "camite" was used, which French forces used against German troops in the beginning of the 20th century. It was discontinued in the 1930s. The article’s conclusions were based on witness testimonials from protest rallies in Tbilisi.

The Georgian authorities accused the broadcaster of spreading false information and said they would file lawsuits against it in international courts. The Georgian State Security Service has launched an investigation under the article on aiding a foreign organization in hostile activities. The agency intends to verify the information that underpinned the interviews used in the report.