Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Gharibashvili publishes an extensive letter regarding de-oligarchization. He states that the call of "internal and external opponents" for de-oligarchization is offensive to him. In the same letter, Irakli Gharibashvili declares that statements as if Georgia has not imposed sanctions on Russia due to the advice of Bidzina Ivanishvili are wrong, because "such advice is not needed in the team".
As Gharibashvili states, the factor of Bidzina Ivanishvili plays a serious role in the country.
"I will not talk much about sanctions and war today. Like other members of our political team, I naturally have to be careful about certain issues. I will say only one thing: if anyone thinks that we did not impose sanctions at the behest of Bidzina Ivanishvili or did not join the war at his behest, they are very wrong. We do not need anyone's advice or dictation on this issue in the team. The reason is simple - we also love the country and we do not want to doom it to a fatal war. Accordingly, the team made decisions on these issues independently and unanimously.
The team does not make operational or key decisions at the behest of the former leader who has left politics. In this situation, the authors of the campaign should clarify what they mean when they talk about oligarchs and de-oligarchization.
Naturally, the factor of Bidzina Ivanishvili plays a serious role in the country. Speaking of his factor, I won't even mention charity. Bidzina Ivanishvili gained the love and respect from the team and society by his dedication and introduction of the new rules of the game, which worries our opponents so much. Our opponents cannot do anything about Bidzina Ivanishvili's past and the love and respect based on this past, which makes them desperate. Bidzina Ivanishvili is the direct antipode of the National Movement and its leaders, which people see and appreciate very well.
If the problem for them is Bidzina Ivanishvili’s factor and his existence, they should admit it. If the problem for them is the values and rules of the game left by Bidzina Ivanishvili - love of the motherland and respect for the law, they should admit this too. Both our team and society can have conscious or subconscious hope that, if necessary, Bidzina Ivanishvili will once again stand by our country. If our opponents see a problem in this, this also needs to be acknowledged," reads Gharibashvili's statement.
