‘‘I don’t know what his interference level in the economic affairs of the country is. This is completely obscured. He obviously has a dominant authority over the existing rulers. There is no oligarch in Georgian politics today other than Ivanishvili,’’ states President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili in an interview with the French publication Le Monde.
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To the question - how do you interpret the European Commission's recommendation on ‘‘de-oligarchization,’’ do you consider Bidzina Ivanishvili an oligarch? - The President responded:
‘‘I think the answer to de-oligarchization lies in the next elections. We have been in a one-party system of government for thirty years. De-oligarchization means that we need fair elections, with a real coalition, and with a pro-European front. I haven't had any contact with him for two and a half-three years. Apart from foreign policy, I never had any other conversation with him. When I returned from my trip to the EU, I came to share my thoughts on what we should do. It was more of a monologue than an actual dialogue. No one knows what he thinks,’’ says Salome Zourabichvili.
The journalist asked the President of Georgia whether Bidzina Ivanishvili was under Russian influence.
‘‘He is an oligarch who made his wealth in Russia. So the mentality is influenced by his past experiences. Today the world is divided into two. He is among those who cannot imagine that Russia will ever be defeated, so he is trying to adjust to the victory of Russia in advance, which may become even more aggressive.
Under his influence, young people in power, educated in Europe, are displaying a weak and flattering position towards Russia. This is a bad perception of the new geopolitical reality.
‘‘On the other hand, young people especially, think that Russia will never be what it was before. It has already been defeated in many ways - militarily and in terms of prestige: It caused Finland and Sweden to join NATO and will soon accelerate the integration of Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia into the EU. All this will happen ‘‘thanks’’ to Russia, because our agenda was not designed for such a fast pace. This is Russia's loss,’’ Zourabichvili said.
The President of Georgia answered the question of whether she will pardon Mikheil Saakashvili, which the European Parliament is calling on her: ‘‘I assure you, he says he is better. He opened his office for the elections. He is in a medical clinic. There are two new trials against him. Instead of wanting to go abroad, he emphasizes that he intends to join the election campaign. I have nothing else to say.’’
According to the president, despite the attempt to impeach her by the ruling party, which failed, she is not going to stop holding visits in Europe: ‘‘I opposed this accusation in the Constitutional Court, even though it itself, like other state institutions, is less independent. Today it is a closed case.
The threats keep coming. Maybe they'll try something else, but there's no question that I won't stop traveling.’’
On November 8, the European Commission recommended that Georgia be granted the status of a candidate for EU membership, albeit on the condition of implementing some reforms. One of the conditions defined by the European Commission is the improvement of the existing action plan on de-oligarchization in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission, with the involvement of opposition parties and civil society.
