PM on Saakashvili summoning:"No one can demand us to be more Catholic than the Pope”
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili believes the local public reacted in a "hysterical” way following comments by US State Department statement regarding the request of the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office to question former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili.
Garibashvili, who is visiting The Hague to participate in the international Nuclear Security Summit, underlined that no one approached him to speak about the situation during his meetings with Western leaders in The Hague.
Garibashvili warned Georgian society from interpreting this message incorrectly and noted it was "friendly advice” from Washington appealing to Georgia for transparency in investigations against former government officials.
"The same processes happened in the heart of Europe. You remember there were questions for the ex-presidents of France - Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy,” Garibashvili said in The Hague.
"No one can demand us to be more Catholic than the Pope,” continued the Prime Minister.
The US statement read: "The United States is concerned by the decision of Georgian authorities to call former President Saakashvili for questioning in multiple criminal investigations. No one is above the law, but launching multiple simultaneous investigations involving a former President raises legitimate concerns about political retribution, particularly when legal and judicial institutions are still fragile.”
Garibashvili emphasized Saakashvili was expected to be questioned in connection with serious alleged crimes and he assumed the necessity to question him officially should not be doubted.
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