ECHR’s “fair” ruling on Saakashvili ended “all dirty campaign” against Georgia - PM

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said “all this dirty campaign” conducted against Georgia to damage the image of the country ended with the “fair” ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, which rejected the imprisoned former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s request to be transferred to Poland for treatment.

Garibashvili noted Saakashvili’s family had hired lobbyists both in American and European companies and paid “millions of dollars” to damage the country's reputation. The PM stressed he had to explain several times to European colleagues that Saakashvili ‘was not being tortured” during his imprisonment.

All these accusations and slanders were answered very simply and simultaneously, very firmly by the ECHR’s decision”, he emphasised, adding the court had determined that the Georgian Government was “right” and Saakashvili “was a liar”.

Garibashvili also made comments on the Georgian domestic opposition’s criticism, which alleged that the Government was rejecting NATO, citing the PM’s statement at the Global Security Forum in Bratislava on Tuesday, in which the latter said Ukraine’s “will and determination” to join NATO, along with “other reasons”, had led to its ongoing conflict with Russia.

The Head of the Government called the accusations “baseless”, saying his Government had brought “real results” on the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration path, including the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area deal with the EU, visa-free travel and free trade agreements, as well as the European perspective and opening of joint NATO military base in the country.

He noted he was not surprised that “the harmful and traitorous forces of the country and the corrupt lobbyists hired by them” would make such accusations, stressing “any criticism” from the representatives of the previous Government who had not been able to avoid war in Georgia was “unacceptable, who “had handed over” territories and state’s “critical” energy infrastructure to Russia.

I don't really care what they say, to be honest. I care about our people, our country, our interests and the interests of our people. [...] I will not have any dialogue with this force, which has betrayed the interests of our country, and any criticism from their side is unacceptable”, the PM emphasised.

Garibashvili also said he wanted to “once again clarify” to Georgian society and the international community that he had not said “anything new” as “it has been [also] said and repeated” by former and current European leaders, including Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, who “in different wording” said Ukraine “was being punished” for its European choice.

I said that it happened because of Ukraine's desire, and we all know that very well. This is a classic example of how they distort the truth, reality. Nothing new was said here. Of course, I did not accuse NATO of starting the war, this is certainly absurd”, he stressed.