Ruling party Sec-Gen criticizes MEP for calls over ex-Pres. Saakashvili

Kakha Kaladze, the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday slammed MEP Lars Patrick Berg for his calls over showing humanitarian sympathy towards Mikheil Saakashvili, the currently imprisoned former President of Georgia. 

Kaladze, who also serves as the Mayor of Tbilisi, claimed decisions concerning the state should originate from within the country, without external influence.

“Georgia is an independent and sovereign state, not subject to directives from foreign entities. No one, regardless of their position, should dictate our decisions. Georgia operates within the framework of its constitution and laws,” Kaladze asserted.

He dismissed statements over Saakashvili as “mere political maneuvering”.

“These are baseless political speculations. There have been numerous unfounded claims regarding Saakashvili’s health in the past. Georgia does not tolerate external interference in its affairs. While striving to join the European Union, such statements and attitudes, suggesting unwarranted praise for Saakashvili’s administration, only serve to strain relations,” he concluded.

Saakashvili, who currently holds Ukrainian citizenship, was arrested in 2021 on his clandestine return to the country and is currently serving his six-year-term for abuse of the power while in office in two separate cases. 

The European Court of Human Rights last year rejected Saakashvili’s motion on his transfer abroad on health grounds.