Georgian Defence Minister says Ex-president Saakashvili’s appeal to Georgian army discredits, politicises institution
Mikheil Saakashvili who currently chairs the Executive Committee of the Ukrainian National Reforms Council served as Georgia’s third president from 2004 to 2013. Photo: 1TV.ge.
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Georgian Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze has responded to former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s appeal to the country’s army ‘to actively participate' in the upcoming October 2 municipal elections and stated that Saakashvili’s statement aims at discrediting and politicising the Georgian army.
Burchuladze says that Saakashvili’s accusations regarding the nepotism in transferring apartments in Tbilisi to 500 servicemen are ‘a lie and an absurdity.’
The Defence Minister (Burchuladze) reminded Mikheil Saakashvili of the commitment he made to the military during his rule back in 2007 regarding providing servicemen with apartments, which was fulfilled under the current government,” the ministry’s statement reads.
The third Georgian President Saakashvili in his video address to the army, published on his Facebook page says that the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party Bidzina Ivanishvili hates Georgian servicemen, noting that ‘he (Ivanishvili) has done his utmost over the past years to weaken’ the country’s armed forces.
Juansher Burchuladze reminded his opponents of the steps taken in recent years in terms of armament, equipment and social conditions in the Georgian defence forces, which are in line with NATO standards...The professionalism of the Georgian military and the high level of training is confirmed by the assessments of international partners,” the Georgian Defence Ministry says.
Saakashvili announced on September 6 that he is going to come back to Georgia for the upcoming elections.
However, the ruling party and the opposition are sceptical that Saakashvili will return to Georgia as this is not the first time promise of his to come back to the country ahead of the elections.
Mikheil Saakashvili who currently chairs the Executive Committee of the Ukrainian National Reforms Council served as Georgia’s third president from 2004 to 2013 and left the country back in 2013 after the GD came to power in 2012.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has urged its public servants to refrain from making any statements on Georgia which may spark tension in the country.
Former President of Georgian Mikheil Saakashvili, who currently chairs the Executive Committee of the Ukrainian National Reforms Council, has called on the personnel of the Georgian armed forces ‘to actively participate in the October 2 municipal elections' in Georgia, because the country 'must be saved' from the current Georgian Dream leadership.
Both the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party and the opposition are sceptical that the country’s ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, who currently chairs the Executive Committee of the Ukrainian National Reforms Council, will keep his recent promise and return to Georgia for the October 2 municipal elections.
The third Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has announced today that he will come back to Georgia for the upcoming October 2 municipal race. Saakashvili in his video address, published on his Facebook page, called on Georgian emigrants to join him and come back to the country for the elections. Saakashvili who served as the country’s third president from 2004 to 2013 left Georgia back in 2013 facing several criminal charges after the Georgian Dream (GD) came to power.
About 500 military servicemen have received apartments today in Varketili Military Town, a district in Tbilisi. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that this was a commitment made by the state in 2007, the fulfillment of which began 'a little later, after our political party came to power'. He congratulated the servicemen on receiving the apartments and thanked them for their service.
MEP Marina Kaljurand has urged Georgia’s former president Mikheil Saakashvili to refrain from provocations, use his political capital to depolarise the pre-election situation in Georgia and respect the OSCE/ODIHR conclusion on the October 2 municipal elections in Georgia. Kaljurand’s tweet comes after MEPs met with Saakashvili yesterday in Brussels.
Former president of Georgian Mikheil Saakashvili, who currently chairs the Executive Committee of the Ukrainian National Reforms Council, has called on Georgian law enforcers ‘to disobey the illegal orders’ of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) government.