Talakvadze says bringing in issue of Saakashvili had toxic effect
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
According to "Georgian Dream" MP Archil Talakvadze, the "artificial inclusion of Mikheil Saakashvili's issue in the PACE resolution had a toxic effect on the resolution".
According to him, the representatives of the opposition have different motives when talking about the resolution. According to Talakvadze, some of them want to cover Russian revenues, some want to cast a shadow on Georgia's foreign political successes, and some want to please Saakashvili.
"Actually, the comments we hear are lies, and it's a pity that on a decision on such an important issue as Ukraine, support for Ukraine, where all the member states of the Council of Europe were united and had full support for this resolution at the meeting of the apolitical committee, it's a pity that "After artificially introducing the issue of Saakashvili, it had a very toxic effect on the resolution," he said.
According to him, the delegation of Georgia supported the original version of the resolution, therefore the statements made are "wrong". Talakvadze says that there are no question marks about their support for Ukraine because they also supported "more weighty" resolutions.
"In reality, many people know that Saakashvili was not Putin's main opponent, but his main ally in Georgia for years. Because the cases and violations that he and his team committed were only in Russia's interests. Accordingly, what statements are made is wrong," said Talakvadze.
On October 13, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) supported the resolution, which provides for the declaration of the current Russian regime as a terrorist and the provision of weapons to Ukraine.
In the Parliamentary Assembly, 99 deputies supported the resolution under the name "Another escalation of the Russian Federation against Ukraine".
The Assembly also voted to amend paragraph 7 of the resolution on "Further aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine", calling on the Russian Federation and other countries to review the cases of political prisoners opposed to Putin, including Mikheil Saakashvili and Vladimir Karamurza, and release them.
This paragraph talks about the increasing repression in the Russian Federation, within the framework of which the Russian government is fighting the opposition, the media, and civil organizations, the purpose of which is to sow fear in society.
According to the 4th amendment, the sentence was added to this clause:
"The Assembly calls on the Russian authorities to release Vladimir Karamurza immediately. The Assembly also calls on the Russian Federation and other countries to review the cases of other anti-Putin political prisoners and release them (including Mikheil Saakashvili, a citizen of Ukraine and former president of Georgia).
Finally, with 56 votes in favor and 27 against, the appropriate amendment was made to the resolution.
