Mart Laar: next six months vital for Georgia
By M. Alkhazashvili
Tuesday, November 13
Mart Laar, a former Estonian prime minister and economic adviser to President Mikheil Saakashvili, spoke out on Georgia’s current prospects in an interview with the newspaper 24 Saati.
He said that the next six months are vital for Georgia, ahead of the NATO Bucharest summit in April.
“The period left until the NATO summit must be used to strengthen democracy and stability in Georgia,” Laar said.
However, he did express relief that the turmoil of November 7 had not escalated.
Had that been the case, Laar said, “The goals achieved in the post-Rose Revolution period would be destroyed.”
Saakashvili’s former economic adviser also said that public dissatisfaction often followed the implementation of economic reforms, as “radical reforms are never popular.”
He also appealed to Georgians to bear in mind the successes that the Saakashvili administration had presided over.
“You started to overcome the economic collapse and the progress that the government made in this direction was hardly imaginable. This used to be a state that did not have electricity, and completely depended on Russia for its natural gas supply,” Laar said.
He said that the next six months are vital for Georgia, ahead of the NATO Bucharest summit in April.
“The period left until the NATO summit must be used to strengthen democracy and stability in Georgia,” Laar said.
However, he did express relief that the turmoil of November 7 had not escalated.
Had that been the case, Laar said, “The goals achieved in the post-Rose Revolution period would be destroyed.”
Saakashvili’s former economic adviser also said that public dissatisfaction often followed the implementation of economic reforms, as “radical reforms are never popular.”
He also appealed to Georgians to bear in mind the successes that the Saakashvili administration had presided over.
“You started to overcome the economic collapse and the progress that the government made in this direction was hardly imaginable. This used to be a state that did not have electricity, and completely depended on Russia for its natural gas supply,” Laar said.