Ivanishvili Slams Opponents for "Black PR" against Zurabishvili

Founder and Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili has criticized political opponents for “carrying out black PR” against independent presidential candidate, Salome Zurabishvili, who is supported by the GD.

At the GD press-conference, Ivanishvili stressed he agrees with Zurabishvli’s statements that it was ex-president and founder of the United National Movement (UNM) party Mikheil Saakashvili who started the war with Russia in 2008.

“In 2008, Saakashvili led the Russian army to Georgia…The biggest offense of the UNM was its position during the war in 2008. You remember how they were acting, how they left the army and dead soldiers. Now they are trying to lay the blame on us and presidential candidate Salome Zurabishvili, who did a lot to make the Russian troops leave the country,” Ivanishvili stressed.

The GD Chair says it is shameful that some forces call Zurabishvili a “traitor” for her statements regarding the 2008 war.

On September 9 GD announced they will not have their own presidential candidate for October 28 elections and instead they support an independent candidate Salome Zurabishvili.

“We [GD] think Salome Zurabishvili can establish a new tradition in our constitutional system: she can fulfill the President’s functions not in the interests of an individual party or a political group, but based on the interests of the country and society as a whole,” GD member and Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze announced.

He then called on Georgian society to support Zurabishvili’s candidacy.

Zurabishvili has several times reiterated that Georgia started the Russia-Georgia military conflict in 2008 and has many times slammed Saakashvili, saying his “thoughless” actions triggered the war and led to Georgia losing 20% of its territories.

For these statements, she has been heavily criticized by various politicians and civil groups.

By Thea Morrison

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