Georgia’s former president, Mikheil Saakashvili, has responded to comments made by Bidzina Ivanishvili, the honorary chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party. Ivanishvili recently called for an apology for Georgia’s role in the 2008 August War, a move Saakashvili condemned as an act of state betrayal.
“No Georgian leader throughout millennia has ever committed such treason as Ivanishvili,” Saakashvili declared, criticizing the remarks made during Ivanishvili’s campaign rally in the town of Gori.
He claimed Ivanishvili has long pursued a strategy aimed at damaging Georgia’s sovereignty.
“Back in 2015, his appointee, Tea Tsulukiani, provoked an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into the actions of Georgian soldiers during the August War, hoping that the court would indict me and the Georgian military,” he said.
Though the ICC ultimately cleared Georgia of any wrongdoing in 2022, Saakashvili believes Ivanishvili is now moving ahead with his plan in coordination with Russia, despite lacking international legitimacy. He accused Ivanishvili of positioning Georgia for further concessions, drawing parallels to Slobodan Milošević’s Serbia. Saakashvili warned that Ivanishvili is laying the groundwork for international recognition of the independence of the occupied regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
“Ivanishvili is paving the way for Russia to gain formal recognition of these occupied territories. He may even be preparing to recognize them himself,” Saakashvili speculated. He added that anyone supporting Georgian Dream’s policies is complicit in this betrayal.
“It is now clear to everyone what obligations Ivanishvili has to Russia,” Saakashvili said, expressing fears that Ivanishvili might secure Russia’s backing to retire to his newly purchased mansion near former Ukrainian president Yanukovych’s residence in Moscow after the elections.
Addressing his own imprisonment, ex-president remarked, “For three years, I have been held captive not because of any crime, but because I refused to surrender our country and led resistance against the aggressor. Georgia will never apologize!” he declared.
