Ruling party head commends President for changed wording about Ivanishvili

Irakli Kobakhidze, Chairman of the Georgian Dream ruling party, has commended the country’s President Salome Zourabichvili for not putting the names of imprisoned former officials and the founder of the GD Bidzina Ivanishvili in one context. 

While evaluating the recent critical resolution by the European Parliament, Zourabichvili said last week that neither the country’s jailed former President Mikheil Saakashvili, head of the opposition-minded Mtavari channel Nika Gvaramia and nor Ivanishvili were worth enough to sacrifice the country’s European future. 

The resolution called for the transfer of Saakashvili abroad for treatment, raised questions over the recent imprisonment og Gvaramia and urged the EU member states to impose sanctions on Ivanishvili for his “destructive role” on Georgian politics and “connections with the Kremlin.” 

“We appreciate that the President no longer put Ivanishvili’s name along with Saakashvili and Gvaramia,” Kobakhidze said on Wednesday. 

In her briefing on Tuesday Zourabichvili said the section of the resolution over Ivanishvili came with “errors” and accused the Georgian Dream authorities of not communicating properly with MEPs.