Government rebuffs president's offer to help
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, October 2
President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili told the current Georgian government to take common action and offered to share his experience regarding the Russian annexation. However, the government believes that the president has nothing profitable to share with them.
Saakashvili stressed on September 30 that there is no time for confrontation inside the country.
“There is no time for rivalry now, I am ready to sit down with the government of Georgia and use all of the resources I have, including international. We should talk about how to stop this very dangerous annexation of our territory from Russian side,” Saakashvili stated.
Saakashvili emphasized that in recent months Georgia has lost control over more arable farmland in Kurta and Tamarasheni than during the war period.
“I will support any action by the government of Georgia aimed at stopping this annexation, we must act in an orderly and coordinated way,” Saakashvili stated.
“If you find a good teacher who has nice achievements I will listen to him with great pleasure. However, Saakashvili can not be such teacher,” Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili stated.
The Prime Minister stated that no one justifies Russian aggression and occupation. However, many unreasonable decisions were made by the previous leaders of the country.
“We will be constructive in our actions and will try to improve the mistakes of the former government. This process will take time,” Ivanishvili said.
Minister of reintegration, Paata Zakareishvili, stated that “the international support will be greater if the country does not follow the provocation of the Russians.”
Residents of Ditsi village appealed to the government and opposition through TV channels to act in a common way against the Russian occupation.
Political analyst, Malkhaz Chemia, believes that current actions of the Russian Federation are strongly linked with the Eurasian Union and the association agreement Georgia intends to sign with the European Union (EU).
"Russians are carrying out demarcation activities and not the South Ossetians. Russia directly says that the region is occupied and if Georgia wants to remove the marks it should enter the Eurasian Union that Russia plans to establish," Chemia told The Messenger.
"However, there is also the threat of provocation and everyone should be careful who decides to visit the area and hold a rally there," Chemia said.
Chemia figured out that the president’s recent constructive statements might coincide with his future.
“It is possible that his ‘foreign allies’ will ensure his transfer to some international organization. For the sake of the country's development, the Georgian government, presumably, will not send Saakashvili in prison. His actions might be politically assessed and not legally,” Chemia stated.
Political analyst, Kakha Kakhishvili, told The Messenger that it is the very first time for the meeting of high-ranking Georgian and Russian officials.
"They should discuss the ongoing situation in the occupied region of so called South Ossetia and the meeting might bring some positive outcomes," Kakhishvili stated, adding that large-scale involvement of the foreign community in conflict issues is essential.
"The international tribune should be used maximally. When the issue concerns your homeland's fate, all necessary steps should be made, including meeting with the occupants," Kakhishvili said.
The analyst believes that the president's suggestion will not work, as he is not a politician who can initiate something profitable in this regard.
"If he could do something, why did he fail when he had a chance? Why did he bring the country to such an undesirable situation," Kakhishvili said. The analyst emphasized that the president carries political responsibility on what is taking place after the August 2008 war as well.
"Russia got everything it wanted in 2008," Kakhishvili said.
