The ruling Georgian Dream Chairman, Irakli Garibashvili, stated that Davit Khidasheli, a partner of the sanctioned Russian oligarch, symbolically held the position of advisor to Georgia's Defense Minister for 4 years.
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When asked by journalists why he appointed "a person close to the Kremlin" as an advisor to the minister, Garibashvili said:
"Who was close to the Kremlin? I don't understand why this topic is so relevant. We provided Davit Khidasheli with very important maps that would strengthen the Georgian state. He did an excellent job with these maps. We thanked him because he provided very important material to us, the state. If I'm not mistaken, he symbolically held the position of advisor for 4 years. In general, as you may know, he is very knowledgeable about border issues, demilitarization, maps, and so on."
The current chairman of the ruling party was also asked whether Davit Khidasheli had access to classified information.
"What information are you talking about? You have absolutely no idea about anything and you are lying to people. This is absurd and useless. They will make [the agreement] public.
He worked for 4 years in such a way that no questions were asked at all. Now, I don't know why you raised this topic at all," said Garibashvili.
Davit Khidasheli worked as an advisor to the Minister of Defense from 2020 to February 9, 2024. During this period, the defense ministers were Irakli Garibashvili and Juansher Burchuladze. Irakli Garibashvili served as the Defense Minister from September 2019, and after his appointment as Prime Minister in February 2021, Juansher Burchuladze assumed this position.
Irakli Garibashvili resigned from the Prime Ministership on January 29, 2024. Soon after, Juansher Burchuladze also left his position. It was after these personnel changes that Davit Khidasheli's work in the Defense Ministry became known.
Davit Khidasheli told the TV company Mtavari Arkhi that he was advising the Georgian authorities on the demarcation issue of Davit Gareji, although he never received a salary for this.
About Davit Khidasheli
Davit Khidasheli was the vice president of the Russian corporation Sistema from 2007 to 2014. Sistema is a large conglomerate that supports the annexation of Crimea. It includes the company Kronstadt, which has been producing military drones since 2021 and serves the Ministry of Defense of Russia.
The owner of System is Vladimir Yevtushenkov, who was sanctioned by Great Britain, Australia, Ukraine, and New Zealand after the start of the war in Ukraine. Yevtushenkov is one of Putin's closest associates. In November 2023, it became known that Sistema was authorized by the United States of America. In the statement of the Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Office of the US Treasury, System is mentioned as one of the largest Russian public diversified holding companies.
Yevtushenkov and former Prime Minister of Georgia Bidzina Ivanishvili have a close relationship. In 2022, according to a hidden audio recording circulated on the Internet, Davit Khidasheli acted as a "messenger" between Yevtushenkov and Ivanishvili.
Khidasheli is the central figure in the case of the so-called cartographers. He brought the map, on which Georgia's prosecution based its entire accusation regarding the Davit Gareji issue, from Russia. For this "merit," he received thanks from Ivanishvili.
The election campaign of Georgian Dream #GarejiisGeorgia in 2020 was centered around the Davit Gareji case. The government arrested former members of the State Border Delimitation and Demarcation Commission, Iveri Melashvili and Natalia Ilichova. They argued that, based on orders received from the previous government, the border section adjacent to Davit Gareji was agreed to the detriment of Georgia's interests, resulting in part of the Gareji monument and monastery complex ending up on the Azerbaijani side. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili accused the arrested cartographers of treason and stated that the oppositional National Movement, which transferred territories to others and committed anti-national crimes, should be abolished.
In April 2022, the Georgian government handed over 104 712 hectares of forest in Racha and Kvemo Svaneti, near the Russian border and the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region, to Davit Khidasheli's company for 49 years. In November 2023, the government revoked this decision after whistleblowing, litigation, and prolonged protests.
