New Director General says Rustavi 2 faces financial problems

Paata Salia, the new director general of Rustavi 2, says the channel has certain financial problems.

After meeting with the staff of Rustavi 2, Salia said the channel’s financial situation was ‘worse than expected.’

The fact that there are financial problems is not new, I guess... But the financial conditions on the channel are worse than expected”, Salia stated.

He said it is important to find ways to “solve the financial problems”. 

• New director general of Rustavi 2 says he will not interfere in editorial policy

He also noted that by the end of the month the team will receive their salaries as they did it before.

Photo: Agenda.ge/Nino Alavidze

• The Georgian Public Registry Agency registered the shares of Rustavi 2 in the name of its former owner Kibar Khalvashi after the ECHR verdict.
• The ECHR ruling of July 18 effectively allowed the return of 100 per cent of the channel’s shares to its former owner Kibar Khalvashi, who argued that Rustavi 2 was illegally seized from him by the former United National Movement (UNM) government in 2006
• Paata Salia, who is also the lawyer of the new owner of Rustavi 2, Kibar Khalvashi, replaced Nika Gvaramia as the director general of Rustavi 2, promising not to interfere in the channel’s editorial policy.
• Former director general of Rustavi 2 Nika Gvaramia said the verdict “was shocking and absolutely unimaginable".