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Shalva Papuashvili Attributes 'Carelessness of Certain EU Officials' to Saakashvili's Return

By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, June 22, 2023
According to Shalva Papuashvili, the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, "the carelessness of EU officials" and specific European parliamentarians created an environment where Mikheil Saakashvili felt he could secretly return to Georgia and worsen the situation.

Papuashvili held those who protected, appointed, and associated themselves with Saakashvili responsible, accusing them of sacrificing Georgia for chaos.

"With or without Georgian citizenship, it is a fact that Mikheil Saakashvili has not given up on Georgian politics for years. He has been directly involved in inciting radicalism from abroad. We have previously expressed concerns about this situation, as the convicted individual was able to move freely within the territory of the European Union, hold high-ranking positions in Ukraine, and navigate various corridors of Brussels. Such actions, including shaking the hand of a criminal and inviting him to various events, are absolutely unacceptable. It is due to this carelessness, exhibited by EU officials and certain European parliamentarians, that Mikheil Saakashvili was able to discreetly enter Georgia and disrupt the situation here. All those who protected, shook hands with, appointed him to positions, or stood with him at conferences-essentially, those who supported the criminal-have sacrificed Georgia for chaos," stated Shalva Papuashvili.

Papuashvili remarked that the State Security Service of Georgia played a crucial role in saving the country by identifying and apprehending Mikheil Saakashvili in a timely manner.

"The only one who saved us is our State Security Service, which identified and arrested Mikheil Saakashvili in time. If it were not for the timely and professional response of our State Security Service, no one knows what the situation would be today in the streets of different cities in Georgia-who fired the bullet and whose tank was parked. All those who shook Saakashvili's hand when he was known to be guilty, whether they were Georgians or foreigners, sacrificed the well-being of the Georgian people for this disorder. The only thing that saved us was our security system," stated Papuashvili.