Witch-hunt denied Days after the protest Merabishvili was arrested for embezzling state funds. His arrest caused a cooling of relations with the West and cast another shadow over Ivanishvilis electoral pledge of maintaining Georgias plan of integration in the Nato and EU. EU high representative Catherine Ashton and Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen separately urged Tblisi to guarantee that the trial of Merabishvili and other arrested politicians would be impartial. Ivanishvili denied ordering a witch-hunt against Saakashvili or his allies but did warn that the president might be arrested after leaving office. In another break with the previous regime, the prime minister also pledged to restore relations with Russia - which had touched an historic low under Saakashvilis rule - and Saakashvilis arrest would please Vladimir Putin who once said that he would hang Saakashvili by the balls. Ivanishvilis attitude towards Russia is in stark contrast to that of his predecessor. When Russian soldiers controlling Georgias breakaway region of South Ossetia - the site of the 2008 war - unilaterally moved the border 300 metres further into Georgia in June, Ivanishvilis response was that there was no reason for critics of Moscows actions to get hysterical. Lets wait a little while and see what happens, he said.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 17:59:33 +0000
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