Vice PM: Saakashvili attempts to build reputation using Ukraine tragedy

Vice Prime Minister of Georgia and Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze believes ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili is trying to rebuild his and his party’s reputation by using "hysterical statements” in light of the Ukraine tragedy.

In his special address to the public today, Kaladze said statements by members of the ex-ruling United National Movement (UNM) party posed a threat to the stability of ongoing processes in Georgia, which included monitoring the situation near the occupation line and Georgian relations with Ukraine and Russia.

"When provocative activities and international violations take place from Russia, the National Movement, as always, with its hysterical statements tries to attract attention [and] deepen the existing problems,” Kaladze said.

"Statements from the National Movement focused on self-PR are beyond being funny and are on the level of idiotic and dangerous for the country’s policy.”

He stressed while the Government had been trying to normalize relations with the country’s aggressive neighbor, the UNM party had been terrifying citizens with their politically irresponsible statements.

"[A] representative of this party, Mr. [Giorgi] Vashadze dares to declare in a televised statement that there are not Russian troops in Georgia,” the Vice Prime Minister said, adding that when there was a creeping occupation in the country, this kind of statement was a threat to Georgia’s stability.

Kaladze called on UNM members to apologise to Georgia’s internally displaced people, families who had members die in the war for Georgia’s territorial integrity, and citizens who dreamed of a united de-occupied country on both sides of the barbed wire fences.

In response to this, UNM member Giorgi Vashadze said for Kaladze, it was better not to talk about Foreign Affairs.

"He’d better take care of Energy and not to say anything about Foreign Affairs because every time he does so, he shows his terrible ignorance and immatureness,” he said.

Vashadze said when UNM was in power, Russian bases left Georgian territory. However, Russian troops remained there illegally and that was exactly why Georgia’s territories were declared occupied.