PM: allegations on Gov’t being run by former PM Bidzina Ivanishvili “offensive personally, to country”
The Government head stressed the entries in the European Parliament resolution were being used by the “radical wing” of the domestic opposition to “further deepen the polarisation” in the country. Photo: Government Administration
Tweet 
Share
In a letter addressed to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Monday, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said allegations on the Georgian Government being run by the former Prime Minister and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili were “offensive to me personally and to my country”.
Garibashvili noted the resolution on the violations of media freedom and the safety of journalists in Georgia, adopted by the European Parliament on June 9, was “not based on any evidence” and was aimed to “discredit the current system of the governance in Georgia”, pointing out that the opponents had never produced any evidence of Ivanishvili intervening in the domestic politics or justice.
[Ivanishvili] no longer runs businesses in the country and no precedent of any kind exists on alleged personal or business connections with Russia. Thus, everything that was noted in the Resolution about informal governance is totally fictional. [...] Allegations on the Government being run by an individual who left politics by his own will a year and a half ago - rather than by its Prime Minister - are offensive to me personally and to my country”, Garibashvili said in the letter.
The Government head stressed the entries in the European Parliament resolution were being used by the “radical wing” of the domestic opposition to “further deepen the polarisation” in the country.
Nevertheless, it is essential that the European Commission expresses its clear position on these ungrounded accusations conveyed in the referred Resolution to fully neutralise its negative impact. Clear position of the European Commission is an essential precondition for staying away from deepening the perception of unfairness among the Georgian people towards European institutions and for keeping the radical wing of the opposition away from deepening the polarisation”, Garibashvili noted.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday issued a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission. Agenda.ge offers its readers an integral text of the Prime Minister’s letter:
Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday said allegations on the Government not being independent were “insulting” and led to “increasing polarisation” in the country’s domestic political environment.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday issued an open letter. Agenda.ge offers its readers an integral text of the Prime Minister’s statement:
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday said the “campaign of so-called ‘deoligarchisation’”, which he claimed was organised by “internal or external political opponents”, involved a “completely unsubstantiated accusation” against former PM Bidzina Ivanishvili and was aimed at “discrediting” the current governance system in the country.
Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chairman of the Committee on Human Rights of the Georgian Parliament, on Wednesday said the former Prime Minister and the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili was no longer involved in the domestic politics “in any way”, “regardless of whether his opponents want to believe it or not”.
Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s European Union Integration Committee, on Friday rejected the notion that her meeting with a delegation of the European Parliament had tied the deoligarchisation condition for Georgia’s European Union membership status to “solutions tailored to one person”.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said the Georgian Government would “do its best” to have “proper relations” with both the United States and the European Union.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday said claims about a return to politics of the former Prime Minister and founder of the ruling Georgian dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili were “mere speculation”.
Anri Okhanashvili, the chair of the Georgian parliament's legal affairs committee from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said the working group engaged in implementing European Union conditions for granting the country the membership candidate status was preparing to present its bill on deoligarchisation.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the executive secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said there was “no evidence” that the former prime minister and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili influenced domestic political processes or interfered “in any way”.