What Giorgi Volski Says About the Meeting With Pro-Russian Businessman Davit Khidasheli

Droa members witnessed the meeting between Volski and Khidasheli, which took place on March 6 in a cafe near the parliament building. According to the information released by the opposition party, they discussed issues such as the restoration of the Abkhazian railway, direct relations with the proxy regime of Abkhazia, informal meetings of the highest political officials of Georgia with representatives of the occupation regime in Abkhazia, and business relations in the occupied territories.

Volski is also the chairman of the temporary commission on issues of territorial integrity restoration and de-occupation in the parliament. He stated that the meeting took place at the initiative of Davit Khidasheli.

“Davit Khidasheli called me. I didn't know him. He told me that he has interesting opinions about Abkhazia. I'll be honest with you, Khidasheli has not revealed any anti-Western, pro-Russian, or, even more so, anti-Georgian ideas. He talked about the fact that in 2011, during the oppositional National Movement, there was an agreement with Russia and Switzerland with international participation. Among them, Georgia gave a green light to Russia's membership in the International Trade Organization, and if possible, this transit movement should be restored with the involvement of the Swiss side, according to the agreement that the National Movement signed with Russia in 2011. My long answers were not necessary; he understood well and expressed his position that in today's situation, after the start of hostilities, since then Russia invaded and occupied Ukrainian territories, any negotiation with international participation, especially with Russia, is not only practically impossible but is excluded, and it has no perspective, and he understands it well," Volski told reporters.

According to the Georgian Dream deputy, ‘it makes no sense’ whether Davit Khidasheli is a friend of the sanctioned Russian oligarch Vladimir Yevtushenkov.

"Khidasheli did not speak to me as a representative of the Georgian Dream. He also mentioned that establishing personal relations with the Abkhazian side might be beneficial. This topic has been under discussion for a long time, but I explained that the Abkhazian side insists on engaging with the Georgian side as the independent republic of Abkhazia. This stance makes it impossible to establish any personal contacts or relations. There is a Geneva format in place, and it would be nonsensical to depart from it. However, he understands very well that my radical opposing statements have not led to this outcome. Regarding the confederation, he mentioned this word quite loudly, to the extent that people sitting nearby even took notice. He suggested that it would be advantageous to create a confederation with Abkhazia. While a large part of society acknowledges that a confederation is possible, the current situation does not allow for such discussions, nor are there any preconditions. He brought up the confederation, but that doesn't mean we are discussing it," said Volski.

As Giorgi Volski explains, he did not grasp ‘the idea of the meeting's outcome,’ and there is absolutely no basis for agitation.

Members of the opposition believe that Davit Khidasheli is in Georgia at the behest of the Russian government and is lobbying for the interests of the occupying country.

Davit Khidasheli is the main figure in the so-called Cartographers' Case. Before the 2020 parliamentary elections, former members of the State Border Delimitation and Demarcation Commission, Iveri Melashvili and Natalia Ilichova, were arrested. According to the prosecutor's office, during the delimitation-demarcation process of the Georgia-Azerbaijan state border, the defendants possessed a map from 1937 to 1938, which they concealed from other commission members. They did so to prevent the commission from using it as a reference, instead opting to follow the border lines delineated on maps issued in the 1970s-80s, which ‘essentially contradicts the historical border of Georgia,’ including concerning David Gareji monastery. According to the materials of the criminal case, in 2020, businessman Davit Khidasheli brought four copies of a 1:200,000 scale map from Russia to Georgia and delivered them to the Ministry of Defense. The then Minister of Defense, Irakli Gharibashvili, alerted the Prosecutor's Office and initiated an investigation. Davit Khidasheli claimed that Bidzina Ivanishvili had tasked him with locating the map. In January 2021, Ivanishvili publicly thanked Khidasheli on the Public Broadcaster for bringing the maps, which, in his words, saved the most important monument of Georgian culture, David Gareji, from being divided. The court proceedings for the Cartographers' case have not yet concluded.

On March 11, 2022, the government of Georgia granted Davit Khidasheli 104,712 hectares of forest in Racha and Kvemo Svaneti for 49 years. The government kept this decision confidential. Davit Khidasheli paid a license fee of 1 151 832 GEL, which amounts to 11 GEL per hectare. A significant portion of the forests borders the Russian Federation and the Tskhinvali region, which is occupied by Russia. By the end of 2023, the government was compelled to revoke the license granted to Khidasheli.

Davit Khidasheli purchased the so-called Rikhe Jugs in Tbilisi, which comprises 14,591 square meters of land and the buildings upon it. His company also owns the Akhtala balneological resort in the city of Gurjaani, which spans an area of 16 hectares. By the end of August 2022, Khidasheli was required to construct a hotel complex with a minimum of 120 rooms at the resort and provide employment opportunities, but he failed to do so. The Government of Georgia extended the deadline until the spring of 2024.

Russian oligarch Vladimir Yevtushenkov and Davit Khidasheli are featured in a secret audio recording released on April 25, 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the recording, Vladimir Evtushenkov is heard calling Bidzina Ivanishvili to discuss a grain deal and mentioning that Davit Khidasheli would bring his ‘idea’ to Georgia.