Former Prime Minister Kvirikashvili talks about ongoing events, meets with independent MP Beselia
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Monday, September 30
Former Georgian Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Kvirikashvili says he has no plans to return to active politics but is not going to stay quiet about ongoing events in the government. He talked about this during a conversation with the reporters of the Main Channel.
“I am not going to return to active politics, I am not going to fight for any political position. But as a citizen of this country and a former Prime Minister, of course, I will have my own opinion and, if you will, a political view. I might like something, I might not like it... For example, what happened on June 20, I did not like and even made a statement about it... Something like this might happen in the future and I am not going to be silent,” noted former PM.
The former Prime Minister says that what is happening in the country today is very much a concern for him. He also talked about the founder of TBC Bank and the public movement Lelo, Mamuka Khazaradze, saying that the chairman of the Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili “believed in myths and acted on them.”
“What is happening to Khazaradze, I think is very damaging to the investment image of the country and it is, in my opinion, a waste of the efforts of many people,” said Kvirikashvili.
The reporters of Main Channel met the former Prime Minister in one of the cafes in Tbilisi, while he was speaking with another former member of Georgian Dream ruling party, MP Eka Beselia.
As Beselia noted, the meeting was not about plans, “I am a friend of Giorgi and we just talked about ongoing events in the government and country in general. This is not the first time. We talk since Giorgi left the government, so this is nothing exceptional.”
Answering a reporter’s question if she plans to become a part of Khazaradze’s movement, Beselia said that she is not going to be part of anyone’s political party:
"I established my own party with my friends, and I plan to lead this party to the elections. With whom I might have coordination, I will talk about later. Giorgi and I have not talked about this today. He is just concerned with the ongoing events,” noted Beselia.
Kvirikashvili believes that after the events of June 20-21, the Minister of Internal Affairs at the time, Giorgi Gakharia should have left his position.
According to Kvirikashvili, if Gakharia had left the position, he would remain “as a living person for politics. By not making this decision, I think, he created a huge crack in his career,” noted Kvirikashvili with TV Pirveli.
Also, Kvirikashvili said that he would refrain from assessing what kind of PM will Gakharia be. In the same interview, Kvirikashvili said that creating “Independent Political Movement” with Khazaradze is just a rumor.
“I think it’s time for the younger generation to become part of active politics, it’s time for the generation of our children. I mean those who are in their 30s and who accomplished something in their lives and are ready to work for their country,” noted Kvirikashvili.
As for meeting Beselia, according to Kvirikashvili, he met Beselia as a friend and for some reason people decided to call it a meeting “for secret talks.”
“I don’t know how can you have a secret talk with someone at a place like this. Beselia and I talked about ongoing events. She is very heartbroken and I think she has a reason to be. There is a very dirty campaign against her and she does not deserve it,” noted Kvirikashvili.
In June 2018, Kvirikashvili announced that he would quit his post due to the controversies on economic and other fundamental issues with the Georgian Dream ruling party and the party head Bidzina Ivanishvili. Before appointing as a prime minister on December 30, 2015, Kvirikashvili was a Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development and a Minister of Foreign Affairs.
